


Colors of the Heart

by universepunk



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-23
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2017-12-25 01:34:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 66,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/947061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universepunk/pseuds/universepunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luffy attends college in the Grand Line where he meets many new people. He takes a liking to Zoro, a "meathead" and one of his roommates, who's sworn off dating and on top of that is as straight as an arrow. Through countless encounters with each other, and by constantly proving his friendship, it'll only be a matter of time before Luffy breaks down those walls around the marimo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece in any way, shape, or form. It's Oda's masterpiece. I'm just borrowing the characters to tell a story.

The sun shined its radiant light across the blue sky over the Grand Line: the place where the oceans are roughest and the sailors are the toughest.

A rough wave crashed against the large ship that carried a young man of nineteen years old.

Monkey D. Luffy, an eccentric, adventurous, and headstrong lad had boarded this vessel about a week ago. He was soon to arrive at the largest college in the world which was located right here in this vast ocean.

Of course, he didn't really want to go to college, but with inspirational words from the lovely Makino, a bar owner back in his hometown, and much more forceful ones from his grandfather, he decided to give it a try. After all, what else would he do with his time since graduating high school?

His older brother, Ace, had already enrolled as a part time student two years ago, meaning he would be a junior this year.

The two weren't related by blood, but they had practically been together since birth so they considered themselves nothing less than family.

And even though he wouldn't admit it to Garp under any circumstances, Ace was the main reason he went along with the idea of attending college.

Now, as the peninsula came into his sight, he smiled because he knew he'd see him on the large campus soon.

However, no matter how close the two were, Ace was bound to have his own crowd and probably wouldn't want his kid brother constantly around.

"That's why I'll make my own friends. A bunch of 'em too. After all, college is supposed to be a social thing as well as an academic organization." Luffy smiled.

The thought of all the new people he would meet kept him on his toes as he gazed out at the approaching school.

As of now, he was an art major. To Garp's disappointment of course, but Luffy knew better than to try his hand with anything else. There was no way he thought anything else would suit him. Though, his assumption that being an art major was easy would definitely come back to bite him if he kept that idea in mind.

But the school had a multitude of majors and concentrations. It was the largest and most revered school in the Grand Line so of course it had to be diverse. It also prided itself in having the most diversity among races that comprised the student body.

There were giants, mermaids, talking animals, people who hailed from the skies, and so many other different races that could be seen around the campus on a regular basis.

Luffy smiled widely when the ship docked and began letting the other new students exit. It was time to meet new people.

Strangely enough, a girl with long orange hair and very large, practically exposed breasts bumped into him on his way down the ramp.

"Excuse me." She said as she hurried past him without any bags.

Despite her lack of luggage, the boy responded, "It's fine! Hey, don't go! Let's talk and be friends!" he said eagerly.

His words were in vain though. The girl was much too far ahead and there was no way of catching her now. There was also nothing to grab a hold of to stretch himself up to where she was through the crowd of students.

"She looked so nice too…" he sighed.

Oh well, there would surely be other people to befriend. He just had to know where to look.

As the students entered the main entrance lobby that led to the campus, they were asked to show their identification cards from orientation.

Once he reached the desk and went into his pocket, Luffy immediately froze.

"My-my wallet! It's gone!"

"Oh dear! It seems you've been pickpocketed…" the girl behind the counter said.

"Pickpocketed!?"

"Yeah. There's been a lot of that going on on the first day of the semesters since last year. Luckily, we have an alternative solution. You can go to the police department a just behind this building. Of course, you'll be escorted by a guard to make sure you're not pulling a fast one."

"Fine…"

Damnit all. Not even before moving in fully had things turned out so terribly.

"By the way, do you remember being bumped into? That's usually when the thieves strike."

"Hm… Yeah! There was some girl who bumped into me and ran away! Think it was her!?"

"Could be… Give a description of her to the officers and I'm sure they'll document it."

"Okay."

* * *

Sitting alone in handcuffs in a holding cell was a man by the name of Roronoa Zoro. All of his life he had tried to stay out of trouble, but trouble seemed to find him wherever he went. The universe just seemed to have it out for him.

It was a shame because he meant well and honestly had good intentions towards the people around him.

He was here on an athletic scholarship, although what he was best at was not offered as a major. Well trained in the art of bushido from early childhood, he excelled nicely in any class related to it that he found himself in.

Annoyingly enough, he had a rival.

A girl by the name of Tashigi who was more talk than anything. For some reason, she insisted on challenging him when she got the chance and always made a point to say she was improving more than he was.

She reminded him of an old friend which is why he avoided her at all costs.

When it came to his major, he had decided to major in kinesiology since he was practically a body builder. He spent most of his freshman year in the activity center pushing himself hard every day after class.

School was about to begin tomorrow ushering in a new semester and chance to keep improving himself. He simply couldn't wait to get back at training. As a sophomore, he was more than familiar with the whole place and had practically made it his second home.

That would probably be an issue though, given his current situation.

Earlier today, he had gotten into a fight trying to defend a little reindeer that was being bullied by a few of the human students.

Just because he had eaten a Devil Fruit didn't mean he was a horrible person and deserved to be treated as such. Frankly, he seemed quite nice.

After thanking him sincerely, the little guy had run off retreating to the safety of the medical studies building. It must have been where most of his classes were. He was probably trying to get acquainted with it for tomorrow.

That was a chance to make a new friend while doing a good deed as well. Zoro didn't get out much because he had a hard time making friends since he was naturally a loner.

The action of him saving the kid was, of course, the part the cops missed when they ran over. The only thing they saw was him giving the business to the bullies in the harshest manner he could administer.

Thus, he was seated quietly in this holding cell awaiting his punishment.

He turned a quick glance when the doors opened and a boy, most likely a freshman, came barging into the lobby screaming he had been pickpocketed by some girl.

"The burglar cat strikes again…" he said quietly.

This happened in the beginning of every semester since last year. The girl who no one could catch had seemed to take interest in stealing wallets and purses for the money and then mailing them back to the person's home address. At least she had the decency to return everything that wasn't money.

He had been interested to find out who it was, but she was so slippery on one could pin her down.

"I demand a new wallet and all of my money back! Not a single beri short either!"

"Sir, please calm down. We'll do all we can to help but we need your cooperation." One of the front desk workers said calmly.

"What a way to start my year!"

"Hey kid, shut it up!" Zoro yelled from his cell.

"What? Who do you think you are!?" Luffy responded angrily.

The nerve of this guy! Sitting in his cell and giving orders like he owned the place!

"I'm tired of hearing your voice! Shut up already!"

"I'll make you shut up! Gomu gomu no-Pistol!" Luffy shouted.

His arm stretched a total of three feet before it fell helplessly to the ground.

"What the-!?"

"The walls of these buildings are infused with Sea Prism Stone… Don't you know anything?" Zoro asked.

"I'll-I'll rip you apart piece by piece!"

"Stop it! Stop it!" the girl shouted from her seat at her desk.

"He started it!" both boys yelled in unison.

"Mister with the missing wallet, please follow me to the back room and you can tell me everything that happened in there."

Luffy sighed and did as he was told, not forgetting to stick his tongue out at the incarcerated green haired man on his way.

* * *

This was great. Just great. After all that nonsense at the police station, all the jerks could do was charge Luffy for a new id and send him on his way. He had spent a whole four hours in that place just to try and sort things out and still no luck.

He was now headed to his dormitory with the rest of his belongings. The freshman were permitted to move into their rooms a week ago which is why he wasn't carrying anything but a booksack. Garp insisted he stay with Dadan until the day before classes began.

Once he reached the fourth floor of his building, he carried on until he reached his room.

Just as he put his key in the door, a girl passed him with long orange hair.

"You!" he shouted.

"Tch!" the girl said before making a break for it.

"Get back here!" he shouted angrily as he chased her down the hallway.

He tried stretching his arms out to catch her, but like that guy had said, the walls had been infused with Sea Prism Stone, rendering his powers almost completely useless.

"You can't catch me!" the girl shouted as she rounded a corner, "Eek!"

Luffy heard her shriek and it sounded like she hit the ground so he sped up to try and catch her while she was down.

"You brick wall! I would've gotten away if it weren't for you!" she yelled while rubbing her rear end.

"It wasn't my fault you weren't looking where you were going." Zoro said, uninterested.

"Jerk!"

Luffy finally caught up and gasped in surprise, "You! And you!" he said, pointing back and forth between the girl on the ground and Zoro.

"Great. It's the annoying kid from earlier…"

"I'll deal with you later green hair… But you," Luffy shouted to the girl , "Gimme back my wallet, thief!"

"H-how could you accuse me of being a thief!" she asked before getting teary eyed.

"You bumped me earlier and took it that's how! Now give it back!"

"There's no way I could do something so terrible!"

Zoro, seeing that he was in no way involved in this mess, walked right past the girl and the screaming boy to get to his room.

When he saw the door was open and keys stuck in the knob, his eyes went wide. No way in hell could that kid be one of his roommates.

"Hey, whose there?" a boy with a long nose asked as he emerged from the back of the apartment styled dorm.

"Who are you?" Zoro asked.

"Are you a robber!? I've got eight thousand contacts on my phone who can be here in a heartbeat and take you out!"

"I'm no robber. I have one of the bedrooms in this suite."

"Oh, well… In that case, the name is Usopp. Nice to meet you!" the boy with the afro ponytail said in relief while extending his hand.

"I'm Zoro. The only reason I'm in one of these suites is because the cost of the private ones skyrocketed this year but my scholarship didn't."

"Well, that's cool! You look tough! Maybe no one will break in this place!"

Luffy entered the suite with a grip on the girl's arm he had caught thanks to Zoro.

"You're not leaving until I have my wallet back!"

"I'll call the cops if you don't let me go!" she yelled.

"Call 'em! They won't do anything but question you and then send you on your way!"

The four in the suite could be heard all the way down the hall. A blonde boy with a curled eyebrow, same year as Zoro and the redheaded girl, slowly walked down the hallway and stopped when he reached the room with the open door. Once he saw that it was his room, he sighed.

"I don't know if this is a good sign or a bad-"

Usopp, Luffy, Zoro, and the girl all turned to face him as he stepped into the room.

An awkward silence prevented any of them from making any sudden movements.

He observed each one of them closely. A boy with a long nose and puff ball at the back of his head. A guy with marimo hair. Another guy with scar under his left eye. And then…his eye landed on the girl.

"WHOAH! What's a sweet beauty like you doing in this room!? Are you a roommate!?"

"No way! This is a coed hall, not coed rooms!" the girl shouted.

"I'm Sanji! Pleased to meet you!" Sanji said eagerly as he immediately dropped his bags and ran over to her. When he noticed Luffy's grip on her, his sweet persona vanished, "Hey kid, let the lady go."

"No way!" Luffy yelled.

"You heard the man! Let me go!"

"If you promise to give me back my wallet then I will!"

"Help me, Sanji-kun! I didn't steal his wallet!"

"You heard her. If she didn't take your shit, she didn't take your shit!"

Usopp stepped back a few paces and fell to his rear.

This was what he'd have to deal with? A monkey like fellow, a womanizer, and a jock? On top of that, thieves as well!?

No way. He would definitely be going to get a private room in the rumored safer hall.

Wait, they were too expensive for students without a housing scholarship… Dang it!

Luffy released the girl and she hurried over to Sanji.

"I'm Nami by the way. You can call me Nami-san." She said to him.

"Nami-swaaaan, promise me you won't run away after we just met! Stay by my side always!"

"She's not going anywhere until I get my-"

"Ugh! Take it!" Nami yelled, pulling the wallet from her bosom and tossing it in Luffy's face.

"So it was her all this time…?" Zoro asked himself.

_This_  girl was the infamous cat burglar?

"Nami-san, please say you'll stay for a while! I'm majoring in culinary arts and am really good at it so I can make you a nice meal if you'd like! Anytime you'd like!" Sanji pleaded.

"Cool! You can make food for us!" Luffy grinned happily.

"The offer was for Nami-san." Sanji retorted.

The girl carefully glanced at the four men in the room. At least two of them seemed weak in physical strength. She turned her attention to Zoro. He would be a problem for her. No way she could take him on in a fight. But perhaps she could outwit him or go for the crotch if he came at her.

Then there was Sanji standing right next to her. He seemed harmless enough.

A girl's gotta check her surroundings to ensure her safety in a room full of men.

"Sure, I'll stay for a bit I guess."

"Don't bother!" Luffy said after checking his wallet and seeing that all of his money was gone.

Zoro offered no response. He simply turned and left the other four for his own room.

These people were way too noisy for his taste. A peaceful evening of napping would do him wonders.

Sanji closed the front door and smiled at Nami before gathering his things from the floor and taking them to the last empty room in the suite.

Luffy turned to the boy on the floor, "I'm Luffy by the way. Nice to meet you!"

"Heh, I-I'm Usopp. Nice to meet you too, Luffy. I hope you and I will get along well."

After getting up off of the floor, Usopp turned and headed for his own room. Hopefully no one would be interested in stealing from him. Especially not that Nami girl.

Luffy smiled. Usopp, Nami, Sanji and Mr. Grumpy in his room. They weren't exactly friends, but they weren't enemies either. It was the start of something awesome, he could tell.

Ace would be proud if he knew his little brother was already making friends… or… acquaintances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is hosted on Fanfiction.net, but I'm posting it here just in case it may be taken down because it is kind of explicit. And it will definitely be in later chapters. So if you want, go read it there. Or read it here. It's up to you haha.
> 
> I will update this story on AO3 as often as I do on FF. If I forget to and you see it updated on FF but not here, then shoot me an email or leave a comment and I will update it.


	2. Love the Shades of Wrong

Nico Robin, a woman double majoring in archaeology and history, climbed the stairs of the dorm she had been assigned to this year.

She had already earned a bachelor's degree in both of those concentrations. Now she was going back to earn a master's for them.

She had yet to meet anyone at this school since it was her first year starting here, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Being alone was something she had been used to since childhood.

Despite the serene feeling solitude often brought her, she had not applied for a private room even though her scholarship could have easily covered it.

It couldn't hurt to make a few friends or at least have some company during her stay here.

When she entered the suite and made her way to the rooms, she noticed some boxes and clothes already settled into one of them.

There was also a tangerine plant on the desk bathing in the sunlight the open blinds provided.

"Cute." She said with a smile.

She made her way into the next available room, put her bag down, and walked over to the window to open it.

A large hand rose from the ground as it lifted her boxed belongings up to her. The walls may have been infused with Sea Prism Stone, but she was smart enough to work around it. It hadn't even been considered an obstacle in her mind.

When all of her books and boxes were successfully situated in her bedroom, she dispelled the hands and the clone that had been guarding them.

"I guess a change of clothes would be nice." She said, walking over to her luggage and opening it.

She decided to put on a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt that extended to her thighs and a pair of black short shorts underneath. No need to dress up for settling in.

Just as she was about to sit down and make some tea, the door opened.

"Hello! Is anyone here?" a young girl's voice called.

"Yes. In the kitchen." Robin responded.

A girl with flowing sky blue hair in a short white dress smiled eagerly as she entered the stated room.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Vivi!"

"The same to you. My name is Robin."

"Guess we'll be roommates this year. I hope it'll be a good one!"

"Indeed."

A pale man with brown hair and a cloth around his forehead entered the suite holding a few boxes.

"Miss Vivi, where would you like these?"

"Oh, just drop them anywhere. I'll put them away. Thank you for your help, Pell."

"Understood. And it's no problem at all. Glad to help you get settled in, Miss Vivi."

"Are you both from the desert?" Robin inquired.

"That's right! We traveled about three days to get here." Vivi smiled as though it was nothing at all.

"Hm, I wonder. You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of the king of the Alabasta desert country would you, Vivi?" Robin asked.

"Yup! I can't believe people all the way out here in the Grand Line know about us."

"No, I don't really think that many people here do. I just visited doing a little research a long time ago. That's all."

"Interesting. I hope you enjoyed your time there. I know the sands can be a little overwhelming they scare some researchers away…"

"I did. My findings helped me write a dissertation when I was getting my bachelor's degree."

"Oh, you must be devoted. I'm a freshman so I'm just starting my bachelor's."

Robin smiled, "Mhm. I've loved history since childhood."

"You know, I was a little scared of having roommates, but I think we'll get along well." The younger girl smiled.

"Yes, but we have yet to meet the other two who'll be joining us."

"I wonder what they'll be like…"

* * *

"Nami-san, try this dish!" Sanji said as he handed the girl a plate of food.

Luffy sat on the floor in the open area he assumed was supposed to be a living room and watched the two.

Usopp and the other guy had retreated to their rooms and Sanji and Nami weren't paying him much attention at all.

He stood from his seat on the floor and walked to the room he saw Usopp go into.

After knocking, it took a few moments before he got a response.

"Hey there. You need something?" the long nosed boy asked.

"Nah, just wanna know if you want to hang out."

"You wan- you want to hang out with me?"

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned.

Sanji and Nami turned around.

"Sure." Usopp smiled.

Sanji turned back to cooking with a smile on his own lips. At least his roommates seemed nice enough. And this maiden next to him was company he would always welcome into their dorm.

"I'm gonna go sit with them while you cook I guess." Nami said before retreating from Sanji's side.

Luffy turned to her and squinted, "Don't bother!"

"Hey, don't be so mean…" Usopp quietly spoke.

Nami walked over and sat down on the couch against the wall while Luffy and Usopp sat on the floor.

"I'm Luffy by the way. I didn't get to introduce myself earlier so there you go Mr. Cook!"

"Well, Luffy, it's nice to meet you. But I already knew your name. I saw it on your ID card." Nami smiled innocently.

"I was talking to him!" Luffy said angrily.

"Nice to meet you, Luffy." Sanji said in return.

"So will you be cooking for us all the time?" Usopp asked.

"Practice makes perfect so I'll be cooking almost daily. You guys are welcome to try my food, but Nami-san comes first." The blonde man responded.

"Well that's great! At least we won't have to go to the cafeteria so often." The long nosed boy said. He stood and walked to his room to grab something. When he reappeared, he smiled "Got some game systems we can hook up to the tv and play."

"AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You think that other guy is hungry?" Sanji asked the group.

"I'll go see!" Luffy eagerly hopped up and walked back to Zoro's room.

He knocked on the man's door but got no response.

"Hey! Are you hungry!?" he asked before knocking again.

The door flew open to reveal Zoro's face which held a look of irritation. He also looked like he had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"What is it?"

"Are you hungry? Sanji's cooking right now. You can come play some games with me, Usopp, and Nami while we wait." The boy eagerly said.

Zoro stepped back and was about to close his door, but Luffy's face was far too innocent and inviting. Turning him down would be like kicking a puppy. Oh well. If there was any time to make friends, this time was probably the best.

"Fine… But I'm not playing anything."

"That's no fun." Nami said, sticking her head around the corner to look at the two.

"Why are you still here anyway?" the green haired man asked.

"My roommates haven't moved in yet! I'd be better off here than sitting all alone in my room since I'm not on the run from Luffy anymore."

"You stole my money!" Luffy shouted.

"Spent it already. Sorry. But we can still be friends since I'm cute, right?"

"I don't care about that!"

Zoro sighed and watched as Luffy ran to the living room and pounced on Nami demanding his two hundred berries back.

"Why are they so loud?" he groaned quietly.

After beginning a game of Mario Kart, the three and Zoro hadn't noticed that Sanji had left the suite.

The last thing the blonde remembered was Luffy yelling at Nami for shooting him off the road with a red bomb and landing him in dead last place.

The reason he had left though, was because he had run out of paprika and a few other spices he needed to complete the meal. Surely one of the stores on campus would have some.

He entered a small herb shop and greeted the clerk. Then he walked down one of the aisles until he found one of the spices he was looking for.

"I'm not a tanuki!" he heard someone shout.

Upon walking out of the aisle, he saw a little reindeer shouting angrily at some jocks.

"Can you cook tanuki?" one of them asked.

"Anything can be cooked." Sanji interrupted.

The reindeer turned and looked to him in shock and dismay. Another person here to torment him?

"Really!?" another one asked.

"Yeah, but only a fool would eat a tanuki. If you guys had any sense, you'd know this little guy is a reindeer. Why don't you leave him alone? I think he stands out enough without imbeciles like you drawing attention to him."

"Are you challenging us?" the tallest of the three asked.

"None of that in this store! Fighting on campus leads to probation!" the clerk shouted.

"Why don't you guys beat it?"

"Better hope we don't see you off campus, curly."

With that, the three men left the two alone.

"Are you okay?" Sanji asked.

The reindeer didn't respond. His eyes were watery. Without a single word, he grabbed his items and hurried to pay before leaving the store.

"Matte!"

Sanji did the same and followed him.

The creature sped up to keep the blonde man away, but he was gaining on him.

"Leave me alone! I thought this place was supposed to be for scholars of all kinds, not just mean humans!"

"Whoa, calm down! I'm not here to make fun of you. I just want to help."

"I didn't ask for your help!"

"But you needed it. So, do you live here on campus? What's your name?"

The little reindeer was surprised. No one but the girl in the lobby of the front entrance had asked his name. Everyone but this human and that other green haired one had just been staring at him and some even made fun of him.

"Ch-Chopper… And yes, I stay in a private room."

"That must be lonely. Why don't you come join me and my friends in my room?" Sanji offered.

"I don't know…"

"We're all nice."

"…Hmm…okay…"

* * *

"Zoro play with us! We have another controller and space for a fourth player!" Luffy insisted.

"I don't want to play."

"You're boring, Zoro. No girlfriend for you I suppose…" Nami commented.

"My personal life is none of your business!"

"Do you actually have a girlfriend?" Usopp asked.

"I'm not dating anyone and that's a choice. I didn't come to college to get involved in lovey dovey relationships. I came for a degree."

"That's no fun!" Nami said.

Luffy looked at Zoro and wondered why someone would say something like that. Well, not the part about the degree, it was the other part he was stuck on. College was, as he had understood it, a time where dating is actually a good idea so long as you and your partner are sincere about it.

"Are you covering for something?" Nami asked.

"What does that mean?" Zoro asked in response.

"Well, you know the type. Athletes who…have  _other_  preferences…like to keep them hidden to preserve their careers."

"Huh?"

"She's saying you're giving that excuse to cover for the fact that you could be gay." Usopp said in Layman's terms.

"I'm not gay. I definitely like girls. I just don't need the drama of a relationship in my life right now."

"Whatever you say…" Nami said with a kind of tone.

"Why are we questioning my sexuality anyway? Are  _you_  interested in me or something?"

"No, you're not my type."

"Oh, so you're a lesbian then?"

"No, it's nothing like that. You're just not my type."

"Argh! Women are so…argh!" Zoro complained.

"First sign…" Nami said.

"Jeez Nami. It sounds like you  _want_  him to be gay." Usopp raised an eyebrow at the girl.

Luffy sat back against the front of the couch and listened to the three talking.

He had never dated anyone before so he couldn't really contribute to the conversation. Moreover, he had never found himself attracted to anyone before. He had spent a lot of his time around Dadan and Garp so neither of them had any sex appeal to him.

His high school was small so there wasn't much going on there.

There was Ace, but they were like brothers so those kinds of thoughts never crossed his mind. And Makino, but she was too nice to think about in any sexual way.

"Luffy, do you have a girlfriend?" Usopp asked.

"Nope. Been single my whole life."

Usopp, Nami, and even Zoro looked to the boy sitting Indian style on the floor.

"You never dated anyone?" Nami asked.

"Nope. I grew up in a small town and was always around my brother, grandpa and legal guardian."

"Do you…uh, nevermind…" Usopp said, remembering there was a girl in the room.

"I know college is where you're supposed to date and do  _it_ , but I'm not really used to that kind of stuff. So I'll probably stay single."

"Luffy, we need to get you a girlfriend!" Nami exclaimed.

"But I'm happy being single." The boy said to her.

Zoro shook his head. Poor kid. At least he had had a girlfriend before. Perona was no angel but she had been a good companion while they were together at least.

"Don't give me that! Girls and boys were made to get together! It's only a matter of time before someone falls head over heels in love with you."

"Well, what if I want to be with a guy?"

The three looked at him in complete surprise.

The room got silent but Luffy did not falter. What if he did want to date a guy? Was that so wrong?

"I have a gay friend!" Nami happily shouted.

"Luffy, you like guys?" Usopp asked curiously.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just a go with the flow kind of guy."

Zoro eyed the kid for a moment. He didn't seem like the type… He was so childish and annoying… But whatever. As is said, to each his own. Just so long as he kept his distance they'd be cool.

Just then, Sanji entered from the hallway and was followed by Chopper.

"Sanji-kun! Luffy likes guys!" Nami said.

"Great for him. Did  _you_  miss me, Nami-swan?" the blonde asked, turning the attention back onto her.

Upon entering and seeing Zoro, Chopper smiled.

When Zoro noticed him, he smiled back, "Hope you've been well."

"Thank you for helping me today!" the reindeer said sincerely with a bow.

"You know that marimo?" Sanji asked.

"Mhm! I was being bullied and he saved me."

"Who are you calling a marimo, dartboard eyebrow!?"

"You! Stuck up muscleheaded-!"

"Hey, stop arguing! Please!" Chopper insisted.

Nami ignored them all. She was too focused on the bit of information that had been spouted. She smiled down at Luffy. At least he was being honest with himself.

You can't help but love someone who is open to the many experiences of the world. Although she had stolen his wallet, she hoped that he would come to be one of her closest friends here.

All of these guys actually.

"Chopper, why not go play the game with Nami-san and the others?"

"Sure, if that's okay?"

"Come on over!" Luffy said eagerly.

Sanji turned his attention to his unfinished pot of curry. He'd have to remember to give Zoro less than everyone else.

"So what are you majoring in?" Nami asked Chopper.

"Doctor of Medicine. And you?"

"Meteorology. I have a keen sense of weather. And Sanji is majoring in culinary arts."

"That's right, Nami-swaaaan!"

"Hey, what's your major…uh…mister…"

"The name's Zoro. I'm majoring in kinesiology." Zoro said with a smile.

"Hey, that kind of goes with my field. And what about you two?" the reindeer asked the two on the floor.

"I'm Luffy and I'm an art major. I haven't decided on a concentration yet."

"Usopp's the name. I'm a mechanical engineering major and was the best in my grade."

"Wow how awesome!" Chopper and Luffy said together.

"Better believe it!" Usopp said with confidence.

Luffy laughed when the boy flicked his nose and made it move up and down.

This was fun…more than fun really. Although it must have been luck at work, Luffy was really glad he ended up with such cool roommates. And somehow Nami and Chopper had been dragged into it as well.

He looked up to the orange haired girl. She had seemed more interested in the fact that he would date a guy more than he was.

But he hadn't lied when he told them he was happy single. Love complicated things. He saw it in the townspeople who got married and the older crowds who had dated too.

Despite that, if the time when he liked someone ever arose, he definitely wouldn't hide from it. He'd face it head on as he did with everything in life.


	3. Rear to Rear for One Night

"You're leaving already!?" Sanji asked Nami, who was standing near the entrance to the boys' room. The thought of her departure left him crestfallen.

The girl had noticed how late it had gotten and realized she needed to get back to her room and prepare for tomorrow. Mondays and Wednesdays were her heaviest days.

Thankfully the university didn't offer most classes on Fridays, including the ones she was taking. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to get as many hours over the weekends.

"Sorry, Sanji-kun. I have to take a good bath and meet my roommates before they go to sleep." She smiled.

"A bath!?" When everyone looked at him momentarily, he corrected himself, "*Ahem* I mean aw. Well, you can come back over after classes tomorrow. And bring your roommates if you want!" the blonde boy offered.

"Okay. Good night boys! And sorry about the wallet thing Luffy!"

Luffy turned from the television, allowing Usopp and Chopper to pass him in the grand prix race, "You finally apologize!?"

"Night night!" Nami retreated from the room with a wave.

Sanji followed her to see her back to her room safely since he was sure some stranger would take an unwanted interest in her.

"You going back to your room, Chopper?" Usopp asked.

"Oh, guess I'd better. But I was having so much fun…" the reindeer lamented.

"Where do you stay?" Luffy asked.

"It's about a fifteen minute walk to North Campus, but I should be fine."

"Nonsense. You can stay the night in our suite." Sanji said after reentering the room through the front door.

"Huh? No thanks Sanji, I don't want to impose…"

"What are you talking about? It's no problem." Luffy insisted.

Chopper looked at the four men in the room. They seemed to be okay with it…well, Zoro was asleep, but he'd probably be okay with it. If they were going to continue to insist, then he wasn't about to argue with them over it.

"Okay. Where will I sleep?"

"Hm, good question... I'd say the couch, but that lazy idiot is occupying it." Sanji said.

"You can sleep in my bed. I'll split the couch with Zoro for the night." Luffy offered.

"Well, okay, but I'll take the couch if there's a next time." Chopper smiled.

"You like us a lot, huh Chopper?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah. You guys have been awesome to me. I'm glad you were my first friends." The reindeer smiled.

With the sleeping arrangements in place, everyone got up and went their separate ways to take care of their own business.

Chopper went into the bathroom to take a bath. Usopp left his games plugged in the tv in the living room area and went to his room to finish unboxing his things. Sanji cleaned the kitchen and put away the rest of the food. Zoro didn't move from his spot on the couch, he actually seemed to have gotten more comfortable.

Luffy was in his own room preparing it for Chopper since he had hap hazardously taken things out of their boxes when he first visited with Garp.

He worried about sleeping next to Zoro, but the couch was more than big enough for two people.

Chopper walked into the room, fur a little wet, and smiled, "Thanks for letting me sleep in your room Luffy… But it'd make more sense if I just slept in Zoro's bed…"

"Well, I think so too, but we don't know if he'd be upset if you just slept in his bed without his permission. It's best we keep a good first impression with our roommates."

"Our…?"

"Aren't you one of our roommates?"

"N-no Luffy… I'm just spending the night here… There are only four rooms you know…"

"Oh! Well, that makes more sense… But you can stay over as much as you want. We all enjoy your company, you know."

"Thanks, Luffy. I mean it."

Sanji was right. Everyone was so nice in here. Maybe not all humans were awful. It just took a while to find the diamonds in the rough. As fate would have it, he had found quite a few diamonds.

"Well, guess I'd better take my bath for the week. Wanna smell nice for my teachers."

"Okay. I'll probably be asleep when you-wait bath for the  _week_!?"

"I know right! It used to be every two weeks! But puberty isn't too great so I have to take one once a week… Sometimes more than that…"

The reindeer stood speechless as the boy left him alone in the room.

* * *

Nami had greeted and introduced herself to both Vivi and Robin when she got back to her dorm.

From their appearances, she could tell that Robin was quiet and probably liked to read. A lot. Mainly because she was actually reading when she first saw her. Vivi, however, seemed open and probably really sweet and innocent. For some reason, she thought Vivi and Luffy would get along well together.

She had yet to see her third roommate.

It was weird, but hey, the fewer girls she'd have to deal with the better.

As she drew her bathwater and got undressed, she couldn't help but think maybe that rule applied to the boys too. First day back on campus this semester and she had made five obnoxious male friends who all were so different but at the same time so alike.

Sanji catered to her hand and foot. It was nice to be treated like a lady so she was pretty grateful to be in his company.

Zoro…he was…nice enough. He wasn't too interested in everyone else and was pretty quiet the whole evening. She realized he was probably the kind of guy who'd live with the others for a bit and then get snagged up by a fraternity. Honestly, she wasn't expecting him to stay with them very long.

Chopper was sweet and kind of shy. He seemed to have a general fear of humans but she and the others were nice to him so he probably knew where he had friends.

Usopp came off like a little brother. He had been shy at first just like Chopper, but he opened up to Luffy in a snap.

Then there was Luffy himself. Loud, obnoxious, childish, but yet, he was so innocent. How could he have never dated anyone before?

"Poor thing." She said, "I wanna help him but I don't know how to help someone questioning their sexuality that they didn't even know existed."

She smiled. No way would she ignore his cry for help.

The way he said it earlier, the confidence despite how they all had looked at him, she loved it.

"Don't you worry, Luffy. I'll help you get a good girl or guy no matter what."

With that thought in mind, Nami sat down and then leaned backwards into the tub of water. There was nothing like a nice hot bath to relieve the anxiety of the coming first day of a new semester.

* * *

Sanji shook his head at Luffy when he saw him walk out of the bathroom completely naked.

"You don't hold back, huh Luffy?" he asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing... Forget I said anything. Just, don't sleep next to that marimo naked… I get the feeling he'd flip out about something like that."

"I'm going to my room to get some clothes right now." Luffy replied a little defensively.

Sanji turned and gave one last glance to the kitchen to make sure it was in order before he went to his room. "Night, Luffy!" he said.

"Night, Sanji!" the boy replied.

After finding some decent clothes to wear, Luffy dressed himself in front of the sleeping Chopper before grabbing a blanket and heading into the living room area.

Zoro, the lazy guy, was still asleep. Honestly, how much sleep was he going to get anyway?

He couldn't help but notice the man looked a bit cold. Luffy knew better than to mess with the thermostat though. Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper were all still here and probably enjoyed sleeping in the cold.

"Poor guy…" he said.

He leaned down and turned Zoro from his seated position onto his side. That'd probably help him sleep better.

The couch was long enough for them to sleep on separate ends, but his blanket wasn't.

Then he got a great idea. Why not go get a blanket from Zoro's room!?

He quickly walked into the hallway and up to the man's door, but it was locked.

"Damnit… well that plan goes up in flames."

The only other option was to sleep a little closer to him. But he probably would take that as a sign that he was interested in him. If there's one thing Luffy hated was when someone thought he liked them but he didn't. In high school, classes were small so if someone spread that kind of rumor, they really made you look like a loser.

Luffy realized that this could all be solved by waking the man up, but it was past midnight so who knew if he'd go back to sleep so easily. He had always heard the expression "let sleeping dogs lie".

Well, Zoro was a big boy. He could deal with sleeping next to a guy for one night.

The boy walked back into the living room and turned off the kitchen light before sitting down on the couch next to the man. He made sure not to get too close though.

After a few moments of wondering which way would be best to sleep, he made his decision and laid down with his rear was facing Zoro's rear. That way, when he awoke, there wouldn't be any misunderstandings. Hopefully.

"Night night, Zoro." Luffy whispered.


	4. Gum Arms, Long Noses, and Whimsical Ghosts

First day of semester one.

Sanji awoke bright and early, already ready for classes to be over so he could see Nami again. He was up so early the sun hadn't even beaten him to the new day. Upon gazing at his clock, he saw that it was barely six o'clock.

It was the perfect time to get up, get ready, and make the others some coffee to jump-start their day.

He threw the sheets back and stepped out of bed. After deciding what he'd wear for the day, he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and walked into the bathroom.

It was clean for now. But there was no way he could keep both the bathroom and the kitchen clean… he'd have to give the duty of keeping this room clean to someone.

He had heard Luffy saying he only took baths once a week so he was clearly out of the question. Why would he want to clean something he barely used?

There were only two other options, but maybe Usopp was the better candidate. He'd run it by him later today.

Once he was done brushing his teeth and washing his face, he returned the brush and paste back to his room and headed into the kitchen.

Nami had been in here yesterday. Hopefully she'd come again today. After all, she only lived around the corner.

After starting the coffee, Sanji opened the door to grab the newspaper and sat down at the table. He read over the main page, and before he turned, he noticed the lumps under the cover on the couch.

Zoro shifted unnervingly in his sleep. He could feel some unwanted attention on him.

He turned and his leg hit something, causing him to fully wake up.

He rubbed his eyes and sat up only to see that a blanket had been tossed over him and there was a large lump behind his feet.

He pulled the cover back and saw that it was Luffy sleeping soundly while facing the opposite direction.

"What the…?"

"You awake, marimo?" Zoro turned quickly when he heard Sanji's voice. "Luffy's a nice kid. I would've just let you freeze. "

"Why isn't he in his own bed?"

"He gave it to Chopper for the night. Don't mistake his hospitality for interest in you… The only reason Chopper didn't sleep on the couch was because you were on it."

"…"

"I'm making coffee. You're welcome to some once it's done."

The green haired man didn't respond. He simply got off of the couch and walked to his own room. His classes didn't start until eight so he could sleep for another hour before he had to get ready.

Although waking next to Luffy was very weird, he was thankful that someone was nice and considerate enough to share a blanket with him. He had a tendency to stay asleep even when he was uncomfortable with the temperature.

He smiled when he remembered that Chopper had stayed over. If he could be that comfortable with them, then Zoro had no problem with him staying over more often. After all, the little guy needed some friends.

* * *

"Get up, Luffy!" Usopp yelled as he shook the boy's sleeping form.

"Nyah! One more minute and I'll…wake…up…"

Usopp sighed. If he had known Luffy would sleep until ten minutes before his first class, he'd have done this much earlier than now.

He apologized for what he was about to do. After grabbing a hold of the cover the other was wrapped in, he snatched it, causing Luffy to harshly hit the floor.

"OWW!"

"Luffy, your class starts in ten minutes!"

"T-ten minutes!?"

"Yeah! Now go get ready and head out!"

Luffy scrambled off the floor and ran into his room. He grabbed a red t-shirt and a pair of knee-high shorts from his closet and changed into them before getting his art supplies and speeding out of the dorm.

"Thanks Usopp!" he called as he passed said boy who was on his way to the science department.

"See you later, Luffy! And good luck today!"

"You too!"

After realizing he'd most likely not make it if he kept running, Luffy pulled his free arm back and stretched it to grab hold of the antenna on top of one of the buildings ahead of him. No one said anything about Sea Prism Stone being outside the buildings.

"Gomu gomu no-Rocket!" He shouted while flying to the roof. He jumped quickly off the other side of it.

"Gomu gomu no-Fuuuuseeeen!" he shouted.

Immediately, he blew himself up and floated towards the multiple buildings in the art department.

As soon as he landed and deflated, he sped into the drawing building and through the hallways.

He entered the classroom and fell over, completely out of breath.

The instructor turned and smiled, "Well it seems you made it before eight. With seconds to spare too!"

"Sorry! *huff* I woke up late *huff*."

"Well take a seat anywhere you see an available one."

Luffy stood and picked up his booksack and sketch pad before gazing around. His eyes landed on something that looked like grass in the back of the classroom and then he noticed what it was.

"Oiii! Zorooo!" he grinned widely.

Said man sighed. He didn't realize he would probably take this class with Luffy. Apparently the university was currently short on instructors for this basic drawing course and this teacher wasn't even supposed to teach this course this year.

When Luffy came and sat down in the seat to his right, he tried ignoring him as best he could.

"I didn't know you were in this class! Getting your electives out of the way early, huh? You should've woken me this morning when you got up for class!" the boy smiled.

Zoro was a little surprised. It was as if this kid didn't even care about the fact that he had slept next to him last night.

Eyebrow had said it wasn't a sign of interest, and maybe he was right. Maybe Luffy was just genuinely a nice person.

_"Giving Chopper his bed for the night and sharing a blanket with me was just to be kind…"_  he thought.

"Shishishishi! We're gonna have so much fun this semester!" Luffy laughed.

The instructor walked to the front of the class and began lecturing on the history of art for about fifteen minutes.

Luffy, already bored by the first five minutes, had started doodling in his sketchbook.

He turned and then started drawing Zoro, who was equally as inattentive.

As his eyes moved across the man's form, he couldn't help but notice how nicely sculpted he was. Sanji had called him a musclehead, but he didn't realize how right he was. His muscles were average sized, but compared to his own arms, Zoro was toned.

Not to say he was buffed up or anything, he just had a nice balance of build in all the right places.

"Okay class, the first thing I want you to do is sketch a copy of this master drawing."

The screen shifted to a picture of The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Raphael. Both Luffy and Zoro were shocked at such a large first assignment.

Other students in the room started mumbling about it which conveyed the general concern and dismay.

"Your copies don't need to be perfect. I'm just trying to give you a chance to show achievement. For those of you who don't think you're any good, this is a great chance to get in some practice. I'll be gauging your skills through this assignment."

Zoro looked over to Luffy. The kid had already begun drawing. He wasn't very good, but he was at least trying.

He turned to his own sketch pad and picked up his pencil. No need to waste time when a critique was surely on its way near the end of class.

The teacher quietly made his way around the classroom, observing his students' skills and methods of completing the daunting task.

He stopped when he reached the boy who had come in late.

His piece, it was atrocious. Lines everywhere and the figures were far from defined. The green haired boy next to him hadn't done any better.

_"Luckily they're in the back…"_  he sighed.

He continued to walk about the class and noticed a few students with some major talent. Poor things in the back would be destroyed in the critique. But that was something maybe they needed to help them improve.

When he noticed the clock working faster than he was, he called time on the assignment. At ten fifteen, everyone took their drawings and pinned them up on the wall. The critique began immediately.

Everyone's eyes moved around the wall picking out the best and the worst ones that had been hung.

"Will someone pick one they like? That would be the best way to start."

A bleach blonde, pale girl with wings on the back of her shirt smiled and walked over to the worst one and picked it, "I like how this person didn't do any specific people and how everything's a blur. It's a completely different approach to the assignment."

"Whose is that?" the instructor asked.

Zoro blushed and raised his hand. Everyone turned and looked at him.

"Come on up and defend your artwork!"

The marimo stood from his seat in the back and walked up to the picture.

"He's pretty hot…" a girl whispered.

Too bad she was in a small group of them so no one could tell who it was.

That comment was the start of the mumbling. Everyone was now interested in the man. His style in clothes was so different it made him seem all the more appealing.

For starters, he had three golden earrings in his left ear. He was wearing a scarf around his forehead and let his green hair stand from the top of it. His shirt was tight fitting and around the collar left a lot of exposed skin. Finally, his boots were the same color as his pants which made them look like they were actually one garment instead of the two they actually were.

"Please, tell me about your amazing work." the girl said.

"Conis, no need to be so nice. We're trying to help each other out here."

"But…I meant every word I said."

"Hey, Zoro! Nice job!" Luffy grinned from the center of the class.

Conis turned to Luffy and smiled, "Right?"

"How'd you do it?" another student asked.

"Well, I just sketched everything and tried to give some value with the blending tool… I didn't do much else because I ran out of time."

The teacher walked over to the work and observed it more closely, "Well, you didn't define much…but it's a start I suppose. Just try a little harder next time. A man who can manage his time is a man who will surely succeed."

"This course is only an elective in my major… I took it because of all the other courses, I wanted to improve here the most." the man blushed.

"Well, just because it's an elective, doesn't mean you shouldn't give your all." The teacher said.

"On the contrary sir, I think he did amazing work. He seems to have tried his best. Look, he's still holding his pencil. I think he cares a lot and is taking this really seriously."

"Thank you…" Zoro said.

"Well, please pick one you find interesting. We have to keep the critique going."

The marimo turned and quickly picked the one right next to his, ready to get back to his seat.

"Ah, and who did  _this_  amazing piece?" the teacher asked, truly astonished.

"Meeeee!" Luffy said happily before walking to the front of the class.

"Really now!? When I first walked by, you seemed to be struggling. How did you come to make this?"

"I always start off with rough sketches before going over things with pen. It's something an old friend taught me back in my hometown."

Zoro, who had gone back to his seat, was completely surprised that he had picked Luffy's. More to the point, he was surprised that Luffy had made that!

He had done so much to ignore him that he didn't even look at the boy's work once.

"By the way, thanks for helping my friend out, wing girl!"

Conis smiled and brushed it off as nothing.

Zoro banged his forehead onto his sketch pad. Way to draw attention to him even more…

_"Wait, did he just say 'friend'?"_

Luffy thought of them as friends already?

The instructor got closer and tried to pick Luffy's work apart but the kid knew exactly what he was doing and why. It amazed him.

After his own critique, Luffy insisted on talking about Conis's drawing.

For the rest of the class, the two practically led the critique saying what they liked and would have improved on with the other works.

Once everyone had been evaluated, the instructor congratulated everyone and said class was over. He honestly wasn't expecting two of his students to take such initiative on the first day. Of course, Conis kept things mature while Luffy did just the opposite.

He watched as they talked together briefly. Well, the less work he had to do, the better.

Luffy walked back to his seat and started putting everything away.

"Nice job today, Luffy." Zoro said while packing his own things.

"Oh, you too! And if you ever want my help or advice, I'm happy to give it to you!"

"Thanks."

"See you later today, roomie!" Luffy said before quickly leaving the room to get to his next class.

He wanted to be there with time to spare this time around.

* * *

Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Nami had finished all her classes and was now headed back to her room.

On her way she saw Robin coming out of the library.

"Hi Robiiin!"

"Nami!" said woman smiled, "Good afternoon."

"Hey, I'm gonna visit the boys later. Wanna come and meet them?"

"Sure thing. You know, we should probably bring Vivi too."

"Alright. Well, I'll see you later."

"Right."

With that, the two parted ways. After picking up a smoothie on her way through the student union, Nami continued on her way back to her room.

She spotted Sanji and sprinted in his direction. "Sanji-kun!"

The man heard his name called and turned around, "Nami-swaaaan! How are you my dear!?"

Everyone turned and watched as the two came together in the center of the union. They were making quite a scene.

"I love that outfit on you, Nami-san."

"What, this old thing? It's nothing really…"

The girl was dressed in a white, spaghetti strapped dress with blue polka dots around the top that faded as they went down. She had decided to wear golden sandals that gripped her up to her ankles. She looked really nice on this first day of class.

"Are you done with your classes?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"I just got out of Calculus. Not fun. If you have the option, take another course instead of that one. I don't even see why I need to take that course for my major…"

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Are you going back to your room?"

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to run into any of you boys until later."

"Well, I'm meeting Chopper for lunch. You should join us."

Nami looked down to her smoothie. No way would she eat anything after this. But spending time with Sanji and Chopper sounded fun. Besides, she could finish her smoothie while they ate.

"Sure. I have a smoothie so I probably won't eat anything."

"You could eat a salad." Chopper offered as he approached the two.

"That's right! A nice chicken salad!"

"Don't change a thing, Nami-san! I think you're perfect the way you are!"

"He's right Nami. You've got a good looking physique. You have to eat though. Don't starve yourself to be skinny." Chopper added.

"Thanks guys."

"Is that…that marimo?"Sanji asked as he glanced through a crowd.

The other two turned and spotted Zoro walking to the student activity center.

"You'd think he'd spend his free time doing some homework…" Nami said.

"Nevermind him. Let's get something to eat, shall we?"

"Right!" Chopper shouted.

Nami watched Zoro until he entered the double doors of the building. Something about him was so mysterious to her. Maybe it was his walk. Or maybe it wasn't that, but… No. She was definitely thinking too much about him. He wasn't worth the contemplation.

"Coming Nami-san?"

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

"Oiii, Usoooooopp!" Luffy called as he ran to catch up to said boy.

Usopp turned around and smiled when he saw Luffy.

"Hey Luffy! Hope you weren't late for your classes!"

"Nah!" the boy responded as he slowed down when he got next to the other, "I even saw Zoro in my first class!"

"Zoro-kun? What class do you two take together?"

"Basic drawing."

"Oh, kinda boring huh? Maybe you'll be able to get closer to him in that class… It's a good thing I guess since all he seems to want to do is work out and sleep."

"Usopp, how do you know he works out?"

"Because I just saw him in the activity center."

"Really!? Let's go see him!"

"Luffy, I don't think he wants a crowd…"

"C'mon! Maybe he wants someone to walk back to his room with!"

Usopp, against his gut, gave in and led Luffy to the activity center.

They stopped and looked into one of the large windows for their green haired friend.

"A lot of giants in there, huh?" Luffy asked.

Usopp stepped back from the window, "Yeah… Maybe we should just go… Giants tend to be pretty intense… So I've heard…"

"No, I see Zoro!"

"Is he leaving?"

"No, he's lifting weights. And he doesn't have anyone spotting him!"

"Probably because he doesn't need-"

"Ikuzo*, Usopp!"

Luffy grabbed the long nosed boy and ran in through the double doors.

Zoro lifted the weights he had been lifting up to their holster and sat up. He lifted his water bottle and took a large swig from it before wiping his forehead with the towel he had dropped on the ground.

"Zoro!"

"Hey, Zoro-kun!"

"Usopp? Luffy? What are you two doing here?"

"Usopp wanted to come see you." Luffy grinned.

"Wha-"

"You need something?" the man on the bench asked.

"Are you about to go back to the room? You can walk with us." Luffy responded in Usopp's stead.

"I was actually. Don't need or want a crowd, but since you guys are here…"

"Awesome!"

Usopp turned when a few giants walked past, "Scary…" he muttered.

Luffy, completely ignoring his surroundings, stepped closer to Zoro and patted him on the back, "Getting in shape for the ladies?"

"No, I already told you guys I'm not looking to date anyone."

"Nami was right, that's so boring of you."

"It's my life!"

"A life you could have spent with me! Horohorohorohorohoro!"

All three turned and saw a girl standing behind Zoro, leaning on the weight bench.

"Perona…"

The girl had long, curly pink hair and two strange ghosts floating on either side of her. She was wearing a black top hat with white flowers stitched onto it, a long black and white dress, and red boots to finish the outfit.

"Bakayaro*! That's absolutely no way to greet me!"

"What's that bear standing behind you?" Usopp asked.

"Bear-"

"Omoshiroi*!" Luffy said excitedly as he walked past Perona and poked the bear.

"Stop… please…" the thing pleaded.

"Bearsy! I've told you a hundred times not to talk!"

"Perona, what are you doing here? Get lost…" Zoro said.

"Oi, you can't talk to me like that! And if you must know, I was heading to the coffee shop and noticed you in here…Thought I'd come see who these two were."

"They're my roommates."

"Did you eat a Devil Fruit? What are those ghosts?" Usopp asked.

"I ate the Horo Horo* fruit. I can usually fly out of my body and float where I want to go, but thanks to these walls, I can barely make Negative Ghosts."

"You ate a Devil Fruit too!?" Luffy asked eagerly, "I ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit! I'm made of rubber, see?" he said, stretching his face abnormally.

"Eh…! What a weird ability! This is your crowd nowadays, baka?" she asked, turning questioningly to Zoro.

"It's none of your business."

"Stupidhead…" Perona blushed, "There's another reason I came to talk to you…"

"And what's that?"

"I wanted to tell you we should go out on a date sometime again…"

"Go out again…? Us? Well, I…uh…"

"He has a boyfriend!" Usopp declared, realizing Zoro clearly didn't want to date this girl again.

"WHAT!? WHO?" Perona asked quickly.

"Luffy!"

"Luffy?"

"Luffy!?" the green haired man exclaimed.

"Me?" Luffy asked.

Usopp turned and winked at him, "Yeah, Zoro asked you out yesterday! Remember? And you said yes!"

"Usopp, what are you-" Luffy stretched his arm as much as he possibly could and wrapped it a few times around Zoro's mouth, successfully cutting him off.

" _You're_  dating Zoro? Well, I guess this explains a lot about you, huh? Never would've taken  _you_  for a banana crammer."

"Mph! Mmmmm!" Zoro grabbed at the rubber arm around his mouth, stretching it as much as he could to get free, "URUSAI! I'm not a banana crammer!"

Everyone in the room turned to look at the four making a scene. Perona sighed and decided it was time for her to go.

"If I find out you're lying to me, I'll have a Negative ghost fly into your body and stay there forever! Horohorohorohorohoro!" she laughed as she left the three and headed to the café.

"LU-FFY! GET YOUR ARM OFF OF ME!"

"Wari*, Zoro."

"Usopp! What were you thinking!?" he asked.

"Gomen na*, Zoro-kun… But at least you don't have to deal with that Perona girl anymore."

"Because she thinks I'm  _dating Luffy_!"

"Well, who is worse in your opinion? Besides, it's not like you  _are_  dating him…"

"It's just a joke, Zoro. Don't take it so seriously." Luffy added.

Zoro irritatedly picked up his towel and water and stood from the weight bench. Even though he hated it, Usopp had made some sense. At least Perona was out of the picture. For now. But the punishment she would deliver if and when she found out he wasn't actually dating Luffy was too daunting to even think about.

While the other two led the way back to the dorm room, he stayed a few paces behind. Luffy may have been annoying, but he was at least better than Perona. And much more fun when he thought about it.

"Too bad he's a guy…" the marimo uttered silently.

* * *

*Ikuzo – let's go! i'm going!

*Bakayaro – moron; asshole

* Omoshiroi – interesting; funny

*Horo Horo – Hollow Hollow

*Urusai – shut up; be quiet

*Wari – sorry

*Gomen na – sorry


	5. Sky Blue Hair and Frost Blue Eyes

A nice beef stew brewed on the stove that Sanji was making. Tonight was the night Nami was going to bring her roommates over and he was definitely excited about it.

A trail of blood escaped his nose when he thought about how sexy they were going to be.

"On the other hand… what if they're not beautiful…?" he worried.

"Sanji, are you talking to yourself?" Chopper asked cutely from the couch. He was currently in an intense game of Kingdom Hearts.

"N-no, I was reciting a recipe aloud so I wouldn't forget it!"

"The food smells great. I can't wait to try it." The reindeer said honestly.

"Won't be too long now. Just about forty more minutes until the stew's ready."

Chopper glanced at the clock on the wall. It was six thirty.

"Oi, Chopper." Zoro called as he entered the living room from the hallway.

"Hey, Zoro. Glad to see you're awake." said reindeer smiled.

"I had to shower and nap when I got back from working out. Can't tell you the headache I got afterwards…"

"Really? Headaches? Is that normal? Maybe you overexerted yourself today. Need me to look at you?"

"Oh, no. I just ran into a few problems..."

Sanji turned to listen. His interest on the matter had risen after that statement.

"Like?" Chopper asked.

"Well specifically, I ran into…" Zoro stopped speaking and turned when he noticed the blonde listening to him, "Eyebrow..."

"Marimo." Sanji returned the unwelcome acknowledgement.

"Uh, I think it'd just be best if I didn't relive the… stupidity... My body was fine though."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm glad it wasn't related to your physical exercise. It's good that you keep yourself fit."

"If only he could keep his  _attitude_  fit…" Sanji commented.

"So what you been up to over here?" Zoro asked before taking a seat next to Chopper.

"Nothing much. I started studying for a bit and then after I was done I played some more Mario Kart."

"Video games, huh?"

"Yeah! They're really fun! You should play with me!"

Normally, Zoro wouldn't be interested in playing video games. But Chopper had asked him to join and he wasn't someone the man was willing to turn down so easily. That kind of connection was strange for someone he had only met yesterday, but he really did like Chopper.

"Sure, I'll join you."

"Yaaay! I hate racing alone!"

"Heh, don't expect too much from me. I don't play stuff like this often."

Sanji took a seat at the kitchen table. He absolutely had to see this.

* * *

Nami turned and smiled at Robin and Vivi as the three of them made their way to the boys' room.

"You're gonna love it there! They're all so charming and entertaining. Well, most of them…" she said, remembering how detached Zoro had been.

"I'm so excited!" Vivi said as she matched Nami's brisk pace.

"Yes, it should be nice to have friends in another room in our hall." Robin smiled.

When they reached the room, Nami knocked on the door then stood patiently with her hands on her hips.

Sanji quickly opened the door. "Yes dear Nami-sw-"

Immediate nosebleed.

"Hi Sanji-kun. How'd cooking go?"

"Huhnnnn…?"

"Sanji-kun?"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Vivi and this is Robin." Vivi smiled.

"Huhhnnn…"

Chopper looked to the door when he heard Sanji's words, or, lack thereof.

He asked Zoro if it was okay to pause the game and, after doing so, hopped off the couch and walked over to the door himself.

"Hello ladies. I'm sure if this gentleman here could find the words for it, he'd invite you in. Right, Sanji?"

"Uhuhhh..."

"So please, make yourselves comfortable."

"Thanks, Chopper. So inviting." Nami smiled and walked into the room.

"He's so cute!" Vivi said.

Robin and Zoro made eye contact, and for a brief moment, Zoro was trapped in her frosted blue eyes. Unlike Nami who had a childish cuteness about her, she seemed much more mature and elegant.

Nami and Vivi took a seat in the kitchen with Sanji, who somehow managed to properly introduce himself to the new women, and Robin followed Chopper to the couch.

"My name's Chopper by the way. It's very nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine." Robin smiled. She turned to the man on the other side of the little reindeer, "I'm Nico Robin. What might I ask is your name?"

"That's Zoro by the way. He's a bit quiet."

"I can introduce myself…! I'm Rorornoa Zoro. Nice to make your acquaintance."

"Indeed." Robin said as she took a seat on the other side of him.

Nami turned to Sanji when she noticed two of the gang were missing, "Sanji-kun, where are Usopp and Luffy?"

"Oh, Luffy's napping and Usopp told me he was going to the studio to get some things for a project he's been assigned."

"Homework already?" the redhead asked.

"Sounds like a bummer… On the first day of school no less..." Vivi added.

"Yeah, but he said it wasn't due for another month or so. He just wanted to get started on it today. Best not to procrastinate, ladies."

"Good for him." Nami smiled.

"I'll go wake Luffy if you guys want to meet him." Sanji said.

"It's surprising that's  _he's_  awake, but Luffy is napping." Nami commented while hinting at Zoro.

"I already took my nap, thank you." The marimo corrected.

"I'd love to meet Luffy, but don't wake him on my part. I think that'd be a bit rude…" Vivi spoke as Sanji stood from the table.

Just then, the man of the hour emerged from his room.

"Hey, Luffy!" Nami said cheerfully.

"Hey." When he walked into the kitchen, he noticed two new faces, "Who are they?"

"My roommates. Introduce yourself." the orange headed girl answered.

"I'm Luffy. Oh, Monkey D. Luffy, I mean. Nice to meet you." He grinned after wiping his eyes.

"I'm Nefertari Vivi. Nice to meet you as well."

"That's Robin. She's a quiet one, like Zoro." Nami said.

"I'm not too quiet… I just read a lot so I don't socialize that often. And I've been known to be a little dark." The raven haired woman grinned.

When Zoro saw Luffy, he stared at him briefly before turning away. The next time he saw Perona, he hoped Luffy wouldn't be with him. He'd surely have to make a choice of dealing with her, for Usopp's lie, or fake dating Luffy until she dropped the matter.

Either way, he felt like he was losing in some way.

"Hey, Zoro, can I talk to you?" the rubber boy asked.

"I'm right here. Say what you need to say."

"I'd rather do it in private."

Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, and Nami all childishly made an "OOOOH" noise, making Zoro stand and quickly walk to his room.

Luffy followed him and scratched his head along the way. He looked back and Nami winked at him, which made him even more confused.

Once the door closed, Zoro turned to the shorter boy and folded his arms, "What is it? Haven't you humiliated me enough today?"

"Humiliated? I wasn't trying to do that, Zoro. I just want to be able to call you my nakama. And I'm sorry about the gym incident… Usopp seemed to have good reasoning with saying we were dating, so I went with it. But you, me and him all know it's not true. The ghost girl is the only other person who knows about it anyway."

"Why do you want to call me a nakama?"

"Because you're so cool. And you're one of my roommates. We might as well get along seeing as you only like Chopper and Usopp."

"…I never said I didn't like Nami. And the cook is annoying, but I don't hate him."

"I think you're spacing yourself from me because you think I'm gonna start liking you. But I don't want to date you. I just want to be able to count you among my nakama. That's it." Luffy smiled.

Zoro sighed. No harm in that he supposed, "…Fine. It doesn't matter to me what you consider me as."

"Shishishishi! Awesome! But uh, what will you do when you see the ghost girl again?"

"I'm not sure… As long as you don't take it literally, I guess we can call ourselves dating around her.  _Only_  around her, got it?"

"Was she that bad that you'd want to keep saying we're dating? Even though I'm a guy…?"

"Not exactly. I didn't like her in a romantic way even before we started dating. I thought I could grow to when I told her I'd go out with her, but it never happened. After realizing we weren't compatible, I broke it off with her."

"Oh…"

"Anyway, enough about that. Is this little chat over? I don't want to give Eyebrows or Nami the wrong idea. They've even got Chopper going along with it…"

"Yeah, let's get back to everyone."

Despite this conversation, Zoro still felt like he should keep his distance from Luffy. That way, the chances of him actually starting to like him would dwindle. The last thing he wanted was unwanted attention or affection from the gum kid.

Usopp entered the living room through the front door at the same moment as Luffy and Zoro did from the hallway.

Robin smiled when Zoro returned to his seat.

"Are you in trouble?" she asked.

"Wh-what makes you ask me that!?"

"Well, Usopp said something about you two being a couple…"

Zoro quickly turned to said boy and gave him a death glare.

"It slipped! Forgive me, Zoro-kun!"

"It's no big deal if you two are dating…" Vivi began sweetly, "It's not so uncommon in the world, especially not out here in the Grand Line. So I've heard."

"But-"

"He's blushing!" Nami exclaimed happily.

Luffy jumped onto the couch between Zoro and Robin and picked up a controller, "I wanna play!"

"Well, maybe we should play in battle mode. That way Zoro won't have a course to go the wrong way on…" Chopper said innocently.

"I'm playing too!" Nami said before hurrying over to the four on the couch and sitting between Zoro and Chopper, thus forcing Zoro against Luffy.

The marimo turned as soon as his arm brushed against Luffy's and sighed. Well, the only thing to do to him now would be to crush him in the game, and Nami too for forcing him into this unwanted contact.

"Don't get too into the game, the stew will be ready in just a bit." Sanji commented.

The blonde stood from the table, bidding Vivi a promise that he would return to her shortly, and went to the cabinet to take some dishes out for everyone to eat on.

Luffy turned his attention from having just shot Nami off the side of the building to the group of people surrounding him.

" _Welcome to the bunch, Robin and Vivi."_  He thought with a grin.


	6. Black Skulls and Golden Sunshine

After waking up on time this morning, Luffy ate a quick breakfast thanks to Sanji, and left the dorm headed to his first class on this Tuesday morning.

He glanced down at his schedule to find the classroom he'd be taking Basic 2D Design in. The design part of the college was quite large and not restricted to one classroom like drawing was.

There were so many interesting looking people walking around the art department. Hopefully, he'd make at least one friend in his classes without his nakama.

He stepped into the assigned classroom cautiously before glancing around.

"Still pretty empty…" he said.

At least he hadn't been late and made a scene like he did yesterday.

"Come in, please! You're not late, take a seat anywhere." the teacher said with a warm smile.

She was a bit older, but seemed nice from first glance. Unlike that drawing teacher who was so mean to Zoro...

Luffy walked up to the top row of computers where a few of the other students who had arrived early were seated and sat next to a guy in a hat.

It made him smile to think he, Usopp, Chopper, and the ghost girl weren't the only ones who wore ones around campus.

He had chosen to wear his own straw hat today since the weather was expected to be in the upper nineties and he had a walking class today.

Normally, he didn't know the weather conditions, but Nami had told him yesterday when he and Sanji walked her back to her room. Why she told him, he had no idea.

As the class started filling more and more, time went by until it officially began.

"Welcome to basic 2D design everyone! I'm one of the 2D design professors. You may or may not be taking intermediate with me next semester but I do teach both. Before we begin the lesson today, I'd like us to introduce ourselves and state any information you might find helpful to help us get to know you better."

Without hesitation, the short woman picked the first person on the top row to begin the introductions.

It was a girl who was confident and loud, but it was easy to tell she meant well.

Everyone on the row went until it was Luffy's turn.

"Please, tell us about yourself." The instructor insisted.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Uh, my grandfather kinda wanted me to come to this school and Shanks supported the idea, so here I am."

"Shanks? As in Dean Shanks? With the red hair and handsome face?" a girl in the bottom row asked.

"Yup. I still haven't visited him since coming here, but I'll get to him sooner or later."

Full of awe, the instructor spoke, "That's impressive Mr. Luffy. It's hard enough to get an audience with any of the higher ups without first scheduling an appointment. Continue please."

"I'm an art major with an undecided concentration, but I'll get to that eventually. I'm from a small town in East Blue that most of you've probably never heard of so I've never had anyone look down on me for being different."

"Different?" the woman asked.

"Well, I can't do too much in here cause of the Sea Prism Walls, but I ate the Gomu Gomu Devil Fruit and can stretch myself. Also, not that it's really important, but I don't mind the idea of dating a guy."

All eyes that weren't focused on the boy at this point were centered on him now. Even the man next to him with the tattoos on his fingers and forearms.

"Well, I'm glad to have such a confident young man in my class! And the gentleman next to him, it's your turn."

"Oh, right. I'm Trafalgar Law, call me whichever name you want. It doesn't matter to me really. I'm majoring in Doctor of Medicine and minoring in design since it's an interest of mine. Nothing else to add I guess. Nice to meet you guys."

Luffy turned to Trafalgar Law and smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

"You're majoring in the same thing as one of my friends. You guys could probably study together sometime."

"How weird to suggest… People major in the same thing all the time but never meet… It's pretty normal actually."

"I guess that's right. Nice introduction by the way. But you didn't say too much about yourself."

"And I think you may have said too much…" Trafalgar commented.

"Okay everyone, we're going to start today's lesson. Grab a partner and gather round down here near the big screen."

Everyone looked around and eventually paired up. Some with friends who were in the class, and others with people they didn't know.

Trafalgar, being on the end of the row, turned to Luffy, "Want to do it?"

"I… I don't think I know you well enough for something like that, Traffie…" the boy blushed.

"What are you- I wasn't talking about that, you dunce! Let's be partners for the assignment…"

"Oh! In that case, sure thing!"

After Trafalgar stood, Luffy did the same and then hooked his arm around the other man's before rushing down to the rest of the class.

"Luffy, we didn't need to walk arm in arm…"

"You're slow. I had to drag you down here so I say we did."

"Are you all ready? We're going to watch an artistic documentary and then you're going to use your partner to help you illustrate some conceptions you get from it." The instructor said.

* * *

On her way to her walking class, Nami stopped at the café and picked up a cold bottle of water. It was pretty hot outside so having something refreshingly cold would be a definite need.

She was pleased when the barista told her it was free of charge so she sent a wink his way.

After exiting the café, she headed in the direction of the kinesiology health studies building. When it came into view, she sighed.

"Why did I take this class with the temperature being as hot as it is?" the orange head lamented while pulling her flowing hair into a ponytail, which earned her a few stares as she entered the building.

She was wearing a small, white tank top and really short, dark blue shorts with yellow rings on either side of her hips.

"Geez, all these muscleheads are staring me down… Horn dogs…" she commented after she walked through the hallway and entered the large gym.

The teacher, an older man who didn't seem like he'd be the type to teach a class, smiled at her when she came his way.

"Are you in the walking class?" he asked.

"Yup." The girl smiled.

"Take a seat along the wall with the rest of the students please. Hope it'll be a good semester." The man smiled back.

"Right..."

Nami turned and went to sit down but then noticed something.

"I should've known you'd be too lazy to take a  _running_  class." She said as she walked up to Zoro and sat next to him on the floor.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"I'm obviously taking this class." the girl leaned around the man and gasped, "Huh!? What are you doing here!?"

Luffy grinned when he saw two of his companions.

"Shishishishi! This is an elective class!" he grinned widely.

"Really? I should've figured you to be lazy too. Just like your boyfriend."

Flustered, Zoro turned to Nami, "WE'RE  _NOT_  BOYFRIENDS!"

This effectively drew the attention of everyone in the gym.

Luffy took a seat next to Zoro and smiled. Zoro blushed and closed his eyes tight. All the attention their group was now getting was too much for him.

"It's not a show people! You can go on about your lives now!" Nami said angrily.

The outburst was enough to make everyone carry on with what they were doing.

" _These two of all people for me to be stuck in a class with…"_  Zoro inwardly sighed.

"Zoro! Nami! Luffy!"

The trio turned and saw Chopper, in his walking form, making his way over to them.

"Chopper!" Luffy smiled.

"You're taking a walking class?" Zoro asked.

"Mhm! I'm doing it just for the fun of it. I'd hoped it'd go well, but this heat is getting to me…" The reindeer said.

After calling the roll, the instructor said the target distance for today would be one mile. As the year progressed, they'd move from one to four. This didn't sit well with Nami. That is, until she turned cunningly to Chopper.

"Well, let's not waste time. Let's head out!" Luffy took the lead and led the class out of the departmental building and on their way around campus with Chopper right on his heels.

"Let me do it, Chopper! I'm the leader!"

"You can't beat me at Mario Kart, you definitely can't beat me here!" Chopper challenged.

Nami, who had stayed behind with Zoro, watched him as he walked. Particularly, she watched where his attention was being directed.

Nothing noteworthy.

The guy was monk or something. He wasn't staring at girls, let alone any of the guys in the class. All he did was watch the sky and trees as he walked.

"So boring…" she commented under her breath.

It didn't take too long for the class to make a trip around campus and get back to the kinesiology building considering they were just walking a mile.

When Luffy started running, most of the people in the class began wondering why. Even Zoro, who had ignored him the most.

Chopper fell back to Nami's side and smiled at her, "Nami, you look tired. Want a ride?"

"Ugh! Yes! Thank you, Chopper! Such a sweetheart!" the girl said before falling ceremoniously onto his back and drinking most of the water from her water bottle.

"Who's that?" the reindeer asked.

Nami turned and saw Luffy standing in front of some really attractive guy who was shirtless.

He had shoulder length, scruffy black hair, medium pinkish skin, freckles, and a tattoo on his arm that read ASCE.

She herself blushed when he turned and smiled at her. The other people in the class all checked him out as they passed him and entered the building.

Big brown eyes moved from Luffy and this mystery guy to the marimo walking next to her and Chopper.

She couldn't be sure if it was just from the heat, but Zoro had a pinkish tint to his cheeks and had a look of displeasure on his face.

"Zoro! You're blushing and upset! *Gasp* YOU'RE TOTALLY JEALOUS!"

The tan man turned to the girl collapsed over the reindeer and raised an eyebrow, "Aaaah? What are you talking about, Nami?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I saw the look on your-"

"You guys must be Luffy's friends! He's already told me so much about you!" the stranger said when the three arrived in front of the kinesiology building.

Zoro kept a fair distance from him.

"Oi! Ace! These are my good friends! This is Chopper, the nice reindeer. Nami is the lazy girl on his back."

"HEY!"

" And that's Zoro. He's lazy too."

"I am not!"

"They look like an interesting bunch." The black haired man said approvingly, "I hope you're keeping Luffy out of trouble for me. He means the world to me."

Nami quickly turned to Zoro, who looked away with complete disinterest.

"Who are you?" Chopper asked.

"I'm-"

"This is Ace! My older brother!" Luffy said eagerly.

"I don't really see the resemblance…" Nami said.

This man was really handsome. Compared to Luffy, the kid with a more childish cuteness about him, he was quite a sight to behold.

"Zoro, was it?" Ace asked and walked over to the marimo.

"Yeah, Roronoa Zoro."

"Take care of Luffy for me. I can't always be around him and you seem like you're capable of handling yourself."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Nami rolled her eyes, "Now he's got him. One compliment is all it takes with men…"

"And you, little cutie, watch his back too please. I know he can be a handful, but he means well." Ace smiled at the girl.

"O-oh! Sure! Whatever you say, Ace!"

Zoro was the one to roll his eyes this time.

Somewhere across campus, Sanji felt a shiver run up his spine, "Nami-san…" he said after blowing out his cigarette smoke.

Ace turned to Chopper, "Chopper, keep them in line for me will you?" he asked quietly while Nami nearly swooned.

"Sure! You can count on me!" the reindeer responded.

"Ace! You'd better stay out of trouble too! Grandpa wouldn't be happy if he got called about us!" Luffy said seriously.

The two stood and stared at each other seriously before erupting in a fit of laughter.

"Hahahaha! Good one, Luffy!"

"I almost couldn't say it with a straight face!" Luffy said through his hand.

Zoro stared at the laughing boy for a moment before turning away, "Baka…"

"Well, thanks for that, Luffy. I've gotta get to class, so give 'em hell for old Garp's sake." The shirtless man said before departing.

"It was nice meeting you, Ace!" Chopper said when the man left the four outside the building.

"Luffy, how did you get a brother who is so hot?" Nami asked.

"Hot? What, Ace!? That's a weird thing to call him…"

"That's because he's your brother, professor genius!" the girl said angrily.

Chopper turned to Zoro and watched him for a moment. He seemed, relieved for some reason.

"Zoro, are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah! I need to go shower."

"Me too!" Luffy said loudly, "Looks like I'll have to shower more than I was expecting to! Shishishishi!"

"That's gross, Luffy. Really gross…" Nami said before sitting up on Chopper.

"Oi, Zoro! Let's shower together!" the boy grinned.

"No thanks, Luffy…"

"Please!?"

"No!"

Nami and Chopper both stared at Zoro. He was blushing and trying desperately to hide it.

" _Too bad Luffy is too dense to notice it…"_  they both thought.


	7. Security Detail

"You changed your clothes?" Luffy asked when he noticed Law's obvious change in attire.

The man had shed his heavy jacket and was now wearing a plain white t-shirt, black shorts, plus he was missing his distinctive hat.

"Yes, Luffy. It's really hot out here.  _And_  it's only three o'clock... The temperature won't cool down until later this evening."

The two were meeting up now to begin working on their 2D Design project together. They were supposed to be taking a collection of pictures, collaborating and picking the one they thought was the best out of them, then they'd have to render it in either Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.

"Oh! I guess that makes sense! You just look weird with short sleeves on." the rubber boy grinned innocently.

Law shook his head and they started walking through the student union together.

"Why are we going through the union…? I hate how packed it gets here…"

"Hey Traffy! Let's eat there!" Luffy demanded.

Law sighed. It was as if he hadn't heard him at all.

"I don't want to eat fast food. And try to get my name right…"

Ignoring Law's words completely, Luffy grabbed the man by the arm and dragged him into the restaurant he'd pointed out.

Unwilling to argue with someone who was this persistent, Law allowed it to happen. But it became awkward when a few of the people inside started staring at them.

"Well isn't this just precious?" The woman over the counter smiled when they approached, "Are you two going on a date?  _Defying the norm_?"

"We most certainly are not." Law answered and then pulled his arm free from Luffy's grasp.

"Lady, can I have a number seven with an extra large combo?"

"Yes you can." she turned to Law, "And what will you be having today?"

"I'm not getting anything…"

"Forget that! Give him a number five combo. I guess you can make it a medium." Luffy said after looking the other up and down.

"Luffy-"

"Real men eat! They don't pass a plate away!"

"There's a difference if you're not hungry. And it's not smiled upon to be a glutton, you know…"

"Glutton? I'm going to eat every last bit of my food and still be hungry!"

"… Wow..."

"Your total is twelve dollars and forty-five cents." The cashier said.

"Oh, I… Don't have any money… Nami took it all… Can you pay for it, Traffy?"

Law stared in disbelief at the boy for a moment then pulled out his wallet and handed over the money to the woman behind the register. He immediately began massaging his forehead to relieve the headache that was forming. This kid was a handful. Impulsive, loud, and imposing were just a few of the words he'd use to describe him. In fact, those fit him perfectly.

"Thanks Traffy!" Luffy smiled and grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Luffy... Please let me go of me… I don't enjoy being close with other-"

"Shishishishi! Oi, let's go out on a date!"

* * *

Zoro, having just finished a rigorous workout session, exited the activity center. As sweaty as ever, he lifted the towel that was hanging around his neck and wiped himself off with it before heading in the direction of the dorms.

He quickly stopped in the café to grab a cold bottle of water then continued on his way. How silly of him to forget to pick some up before he actually started lifting weights. Chopper would have probably scolded him for that.

"Zoro-bakaaaaaa!"

The marimo cringed at the high-pitched sound of Perona's voice. He turned and stared at her. Surprisingly, she was wearing a long, thin black button down with light pink leggings to deal with the heat. Though Bearsy was missing, she was holding her umbrella in her right hand as always.

Quickly, she began rushing over to him. There was nothing he could do now. If he ran, she'd probably use a Negative Ghost to stop him. They were outside after all.

The unpleasantness of that thought held him firmly in place.

"Where are you headed?" she asked when she came up next to him.

"I was going… to get some food…" Zoro lied.

Luckily he hadn't made it all the way through the union, otherwise that never would have worked. If Perona found out which dorm he stayed in, there was no telling how often he'd  _accidentally_  run into her.

"I'll go with you then." The girl said, and then looped her arm with his. "You've been working out too much. You should cut it out before you get so big you're unattractive." She commented after squeezing his arm with her overly feminine fingers.

"Maybe then you'd leave me alone…" Zoro mumbled with a grin.

"Come again?"

"I said let's go to the Burger Shack…"

"You're such a beefy man! Fine… Lead the way."

As they entered said restaurant, Zoro looked around. He wanted to make sure he wasn't drawing too much attention to himself with Perona attached to his arm.

Admittedly, yes, she was kind of pretty, but for some reason he just didn't feel right being with her like this. Which made him uncomfortable to have people assuming they were together.

Luckily, the place was near empty apart from a few groups of people and some couples here and there.

When he spotted Luffy upstairs with someone, he sighed.

" _How could this get any worse…?"_  he wondered.

It wasn't until he and Perona reached the counter that he could see the face of the person Luffy was eating with.

He had earrings in both ears, messy black hair, a goatee, sideburns, tattoos, and tan skin. His style was contrasted greatly to Luffy's. It was monochromatic. Luffy always dressed in bright, vibrant colors with maybe some black or white mixed in somewhere.

" _Why's Luffy eating with someone like that?"_

After ordering his and Perona's meals, he guided her to a seat where he could keep an eye on them. He also made sure Perona was sitting facing away from them. If she saw Luffy eating with someone else, she'd most likely get suspicious.

It puzzled him as to why he cared at all who Luffy was eating with, but the kid  _was_  a friend… even if he was an annoying one.

" _I'm just looking out for him. Yeah."_  He thought with a satisfied grin and then took a bite from his burger.

"Baka, what's so amusing?" Perona asked through squinted eyes after sipping her drink.

"Oh… Uh… I'm enjoying this burger!" the marimo grinned awkwardly, showing the food in his teeth.

"You have absolutely no table manners…"

" _That was a close one…"_  the marimo thought.

"So… How are things with you and that rubber boy?"

"… Just fine."

"Really? I've been curious about why you'd date him… He seems like an idiot. And he's a  _guy_! What would make you switch teams like that?"

"He's… cute… And… I have fun with him…"

"So you like wieners now? You do realize that that's what's down there, right?" Perona asked before taking a bite from her burger.

"Yeah… I can look past that… Besides, he still has a hole…"

"PFFFTTT! THAT'S-" Before the girl could shout and draw attention to herself, Zoro quickly leaned forward and covered her mouth with his hand then wiped his face of chewed up burger with the other.

The last thing he needed was for Luffy to notice him down here.

"Keep it down, Perona!" he whispered angrily.

Said girl removed his large hand and politely patted her mouth with a napkin.

"That's very unexpected of you. So you'd be doing the cramming then?"

"That's none of your business…"

"I guess it's not. Well, I don't have the desire to think of you in that way with another man, so I'm gonna leave you to contemplate what you've just told me. Maybe you'll come to your senses." The girl said before standing and picking up her tray.

When she left the restaurant, Zoro put his head down on the table and sighed. For a moment, he sat in silence and listened to the music playing on the radio, then to the obnoxious group of people watching a football game, and then he heard that familiar laugh that seemed to sing above the noise.

He lifted his head and looked up at Luffy. There  _was_  something inviting about him. And he was pretty cute for a guy… He hadn't lied to Perona about that part.

" _Jeez, what's wrong with me…?"_

For some reason, seeing him up there laughing like that and talking with some other guy made him feel uneasy. But he wasn't jealous. He forced himself to believe that. Nami was way off base to assume something like that...

When Luffy and the other guy stood and headed to the stairs, he stiffened. As inconspicuously as possible, he got up and took his tray to the tray deposit and then slipped out of the restaurant.

"Jeez, can this day get any worse…?" he asked aloud.

Having to take walking class with boisterous Nami and Luffy, running into Perona, and then seeing Luffy with that guy… Today was just not his day.

As he exited the union and began walking through the grassy field to get back to the dorm, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

"Roronoa Zoro! I've finally caught up with you!"

"Dang it…" the man lamented, "What do  _you_  want?" he said after turning to face the person calling him.

* * *

"I told you it's not a date. I'm not interested in guys like you are." Law said as he watched Luffy pout.

They had left the restaurant and were now on their way to the art lab to pick up a digital camera for their project.

"You're so mean to me, Traffy!"

"Everyone you meet won't be looking to give you a bouquet of flowers and make you happy. That's life."

"Everyone you meet won't be looking to give you a bouquet to make you happy." The boy mimicked.

"I… I don't talk like that…"

Luffy ignored Law and stopped when they exited the union because he spotted Zoro in the field. He was talking to a girl.

"Luffy? What's wrong?"

"What's Zoro doing?"

"Who's Zoro?"

"Huh? Oh, he's one of my friends. But I've never seen that girl before."

Law stared in the same direction as the other, "Her? That's Tashigi. She's a student but she also works security detail here."

"Security? What is she doing with Zoro?"

"Maybe she likes him…? Who knows?" Law said before he started walking again, "Coming Mugiwara? We need to start our project."

"Go on without me. I'm going over there!"

"You shouldn't get involved… You never know what the security personnel have up their- HEY!" the man shouted when Luffy took off.

"She pulled a sword on him!" he yelled.

Zoro turned when he heard someone running in his direction. He got wide-eyed when he saw that it was Luffy, who dashed right past him and stretched himself around Tashigi to prevent her from moving.

"Wh- What are you doing!?" the dark haired girl asked surprisedly.

"Don't you hurt my nakama!"

Law stared at the scene in awe. This kid was more than just a handful…

Zoro squinted, "Luffy, what are you-"

"Let go of me!" Tashigi shouted.

"Never! Not if you're gonna hurt Zoro!"

"Fine! You think you can attack me because you're a Devil Fruit user?!"

When Tashigi pressed a button on her watch, Luffy stared down at her. She shouldn't have been able to move at all!

"Haki!?"

"Captain Smoker! I need assistance in the fields just past the union!" she shouted.

Unable to hear what was going on, Law decided he might as well see what was about to happen and walked over to the three. Luffy's hasty actions warranted a reprimand and he was intrigued to see what it would be.

Zoro walked over and started pulling at Luffy, only stretching him further. "BAKA! Let go of her!"

"But Zoro-"

"This is quite a sight, Tashigi."

Everyone turned and saw a cloud of smoke approaching.

"Captain Smoker-" said girl began.

Luffy covered her mouth with his hand, "Mr. Smoke Cloud! This girl pulled a sword on my friend and was about to attack him!"

"LUFFY!" Zoro yelled angrily and began yanking him aggressively.

"Is that so?" the cloud asked.

A man began to materialize from the smoke. He was tall, muscular, had gray hair, a scar on the right side of his forehead, and was smoking not one, but two cigars. On his shoulders rested a jute and large white jacket, he had foregone wearing any kind of shirt which revealed his muscular torso, and he was wearing navy blue pants that were tucked away inside black boots at the bottom.

"Can I ask you to release my subordinate?" he spoke calmly.

"Only if she promises to-"

"Luffy, you've misunderstood the situation...!" Zoro commented then shook his head.

"Huh?!" the boy asked before unraveling his limbs from around Tashigi.

"Smoker-san! This boy needs to be placed in holding and punished for his actions!"

"What did he do?" Smoker asked.

"He attacked me, completely unprovoked! You saw!"

"Is that so? Well, I suppose we should do  _something_  about that, huh?"

Law smirked, "All he did was wrap himself around her. He didn't attack at all."

"I think we'll hold all three of you until we figure out what  _wrapping around_  a security officer warrants." Smoker commented and then scratched his head.

"Isn't that just like a cop? Punish everyone in sight even if no one is at fault then end up looking like a fool later." Law responded.

"I think a brat like you had best keep his mouth closed if he knew what was best for him! You're an accessory to this, believe it or not!" The smoke man said irritably.

"Of course. But you know what? I predict we'll be out of holding by the end of the night."

"Tashigi, cuff all three of them!"

"H-hai!"

After putting the proper cuffs on Luffy and Zoro, Tashigi stepped behind Law, "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"

"I don't know… Maybe I am and maybe I'm not."

Smoker stared at the shorter man. There was someone like him everywhere you went. A nuisance. Someone who enjoyed toying with authority and getting away with it. Not to mention this kid... Well, that was a matter to be discussed later.

He walked over to Law and cuffed him with Sea Prism infused hand cuffs before grabbing him by the shoulder and leading him in the direction of the holding cells.

Tashigi motioned for Luffy and Zoro to follow.

"Luffy… Why did you jump in like that?" Zoro asked as they started walking.

"You were about to be attacked and you didn't have your swords! It wasn't fair!"

"… Baka…"

"What?"

"I wasn't about to be attacked… Tashigi was challenging me to a kendo match."

"Honto!? Well- Well that's a weird way of doing it!"

"Learn to ask questions first, baka. Why would a security guard suddenly attack a student? Even they have morals."

"... Wari, Zoro…" Luffy said, now realizing they were in trouble all thanks to his actions.

Just a few paces ahead, Law tried to pull his shoulder free from the tight grip of Smoker's hand, "You can let go of me, you know. I'm not planning to run." He said.

Smoker looked down to him, "Keep quiet and walk."

The tattooed man glanced back up at the taller man and stared into his eyes. Something about him was just so…

"Eyes forward."

With a grin, the shorter man turned and focused on the sidewalk.

Although he did not normally pay attention to other men, this musclehead had a certain… handsomeness about him… He was confident enough in himself to be able to admit that.

" _But he's nothing more than a glorified pig…"_

Upon reaching the university police station, Smoker turned to Tashigi, "Take those two and put them in a room. This wasn't a major crime so no there's need to treat them like criminals."

"Hai! What about that one?" Tashigi asked.

"He's coming to my office."

"Oh, look how special  _I_  am." Law said sarcastically.

"Get going, Tashigi."

"Right!" the girl said. She turned to the marimo and gum boy, "Follow me."

Zoro quietly followed and then Luffy trailed after him, right on his heels.

It didn't take them long to reach the room. When they did, Tashigi pulled out a key and unlocked the door, "In here please."

"Right…"

"Cheer up, Zoro! We get to be together at least!" Luffy grinned as he followed the man into the room.

"Behave yourselves until we decide what to do with you." The glasses wearing girl said before closing the door and locking it.

"Oooooh it's so small in here!"

"Yeah…" the other responded before he went and sat in a corner.

Luffy stepped over his cuffed arms and then sat down across the room from the marimo. This was going to be a long rest of the day, he could tell.

* * *

"What a nice office you have." Law commented as he was led inside a large room.

"Take a seat. You'll be here for a while." Smoker said before he closed the door behind himself and walked over to his desk to flip through his paperwork.

Law, doing just as Luffy had done, stepped over his arms and took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs. "So how long are you really planning to keep me in here? And why didn't I go with Mugiwara and his friend?"

After taking a seat and then taking a deep inhale from his cigars, Smoker looked at the boy, "For a while, Trafalgar Law. The reason I brought you in here… Well I didn't want to worry Tashigi, so I kept quiet about it. But based on your tattoos, I'd say you fit the description of the one of the culprits who've been smuggling drugs onto campus."

"Really?"

"That's right. And I'm gonna go a step further. I also suspect you're working for Donquixote Doflamingo."

Law stared at Smoker seriously. The pigs who worked here were much keener than he'd initially thought they were.

"That's a pretty big accusation, Captain Smoker."

"I know it is." said man responded confidently.


	8. By the Light of the Moon

Like thieves in the night, three less than sneaky students stood around the backside of the university police station in the convenience the darkness of the night provided.

"Usopp, hurry up! Why are you taking so long to do this simple task?!" Nami irritably whispered as she and Chopper watched him work.

"This is a delicate procedure and it takes time! Not to mention a precise hand! These locks are really hard to pick! And by the way, why do I have to do this?! If we get caught, I'll be the one who gets in trouble!" the long-nosed boy retorted while twisting one of the girl's hairpins inside the lock on the breaker box.

"No one would get caught… We'd just speed away on Chopper's back without anyone being the wiser."

Chopper pulled at the sleeve on Nami's black pullover, "Uhm, Nami… What happened anyway? Why do you want to cut off the lights in the police station?" he asked.

"Well, my horned friend, that's simple. I saw Zoro and Luffy get arrested earlier and followed them like the sneaky burglar cat I am. I was able to get past the front desk and then I saw it happen."

"Wait, Zoro and Luffy got arrested?! And you saw it happen?" Usopp asked nervously.

"Yup and yup! They probably won't be in too much trouble, though. Nothing serious happened."

"You said you saw  _it_  happen. What else did you see?" Chopper asked.

The orange haired girl smiled deviously and looked back in forth between her two companions.

"Tell us already, Nami!"

"Okay! Sheesh, can't let a girl build up some tension…"

Chopper and Usopp looked at each other for a moment, and then turned back to Nami.

"Ahem! Luffy and Zoro were put in a room together. All alone. It's the perfect opportunity for them to get closer! What better way for them to be in there than in the dark?"

Usopp stared at the smirking girl, "Are you serious?"

Nami flipped her long hair over her shoulder and smiled, "As a heart attack. You may not be able to tell, but Zoro actually seems like he's starting to like Luffy."

"Nami, that's impossible. Zoro is straight-"

"I think she's right, Usopp…"

"Chopper…?"

"We saw him blushing about Luffy earlier. I think the best thing for us to do would be to let him decide how he feels on his own. If Nami thinks this is the way, I think I'll trust her instincts. After all, we're not forcing him to do anything. We're only helping him along." The reindeer smiled.

"… Fine."

"Now, get back to work Usopp! I got you to help me because I know you can do it!" Nami said cheerfully.

"Right…" the long-nosed boy stated with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

* * *

With great concern about Smoker's having taken the tattooed student to his office, Tashigi sat at her desk and chewed the bottom of her ink pen.

Why hadn't he just sent him to the holding room with Roronoa and the obnoxious rubber boy?

Did he have an ulterior motive? Or perhaps he was actually hiding something from her.

"Captain Smoker…" she commented.

Whatever it was, it couldn't have been a bad thing because he and the kid seemed to really detest each other. That fact alone was enough to make the girl trust in her superior's actions.

She looked out her office window to the magnificent moon in the sky above. Its ability to light the sky and the earth in so calm a manner was admirable to say the least.

For some strange reason, it reminded her of Roronoa. A light in the darkness. Even though she'd never admit it, he was worthy of the blades he carried and the name he had already begun to make for himself.

He was an inspiration to her, which is why she was always trying to challenge him. Evasive as he was, she would always find him. Just like the moon.

A small smile graced her face for a moment, "Roronoa, you sure are an interesting man." She commented.

* * *

"You think I'm working for Donquixote Doflamingo? You can't be serious, Captain." Law said, and then smugly grinned at the smoke-man across the room.

Smoker looked up from his book and sighed heavily, "We'll see who'll be smiling when I catch you."

"Well, until you have some actual proof, I don't think you're authorized to keep me here. So if you wouldn't mind..."

"Don't get cocky with me, kid… I've already contacted the head of the police and he's going to decide what I should do with you brats. Especially you."

"The head? So you're just another lackey then?"

"I've got the power to expel and/or arrest you, so I'd watch that smart little mouth of yours." Smoker said before turning his attention back to his book.

He took a deep drag from his cigars and blew the smoke into the air. This punk was really grating on his nerves.

Law sighed and stood from his seat, which earned him the other's attention once more.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"Just looking around this office of yours. I'm positive I won't be back in here again, so I figure I might as well take a look at the books on your shelves that you've probably never read once."

Smoker's eyebrows knitted down. How dare this brat assume something like that! Nothing came into this office without him having read it  _at least_  twice!

"Get back in your seat…!" He ordered as calmly as he possibly could.

The black-haired man ignored Smoker and lifted his cuffed hands to pick up a book off the shelf.

"Life of Pi…?" he muttered after looking over the cover.

Just as he opened it, he heard something crash and turned quickly to see what it was. As soon as he did, he was forced to the ground by the larger man.

Smoker held the younger man down on the carpet by his neck, and with his knee in his back, he angrily spoke, "I thought I told you to take your seat."

The smell of cigar smoke flowed heavily through the air. The only thing stronger than its scent was the tension between the two. Smoker stared down at Law, and Law stared back up at him through the corner of his eye.

It didn't take long for Law to cave and turn his gaze to the carpet. Having a staring contest with this man was much more intimidating than he imagined it would be.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and then went out.

The cigar smoking man looked up from the boy and glanced carefully around the room, "What the hell…?"

"You're… really heavy… you know that? Do you mind getting off of me?" Law asked, clearly uncomfortable with his face in the carpet, a hand around his neck, and a knee in his back.

Smoker bent down and looked him in the face, "Was this your doing? Got some buddies coming to break you out?"

"… Your breath smells terribly of smoke…"

Smoker bit down on his cigars angrily, but got off the smaller man nonetheless. He stood up, grabbed Law by the arm and pulled him up, then he forced him to sit in the chair he'd previously been seated in.

"Don't move from that spot."

Law watched qith a look of displeasure as Smoker left the office.

"Che… What a pushover…" he said, and then yawned. "How long are they gonna keep us here anyway?"

* * *

Zoro looked across the room, now illuminated by moonlight from the small window high on the wall, to Luffy as soon as the lights went out.

"Oi! This isn't funny! Turn the lights back on!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I doubt they're playing a joke on us…"

"Why's that?"

"Look under the door. The lights in the hallway are out too. The entire building probably lost power."

For a few minutes after that, the two sat in silence. Luffy stood up anxiously, walked past the table in the center of the room, and then took a seat next to Zoro against the wall.

"Luffy, what are you-"

"I don't really care for the dark… Well, if I'm not going to sleep…" the gum boy commented innocently.

Zoro was about to scoot over to keep his personal space bubble, but upon looking down, he noticed that Luffy hadn't gotten too close to him.

Good.

"Oi, Zoro."

"Huh?"

"What kind of people do you like?"

Zoro turned to the boy sitting next to him questionably, "What? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I asked."

"… That's a weird question…"

"You don't have to answer it… It was stupid anyway…"

The marimo turned and looked out the window then sighed.

"I can't say I prefer a type of person. I can deal with all kinds of people. Obnoxious like you, imposing like Nami, shy like Chopper, chicken-hearted like Usopp, quiet like Robin, condescending like Eyebrow, welcoming like Vivi… I deal with multiple types every day."

"Oh… That wasn't really what I was asking…"

"Huh? Then… Oh! Why would you want to know that, Luffy?"

Said boy looked away and his lips went in the same direction as his eyes, "I'm just curious."

"I don't really want to talk about my preferences."

"You know, if we're nakama, you should be more open with me. Not just me… Everyone… Do things with us. Talk to us. You don't have to stay alone in your room so much… We want to get to know you. Especially me…"

"I do come out of my room."

"When we ask you to or when you're going to the activity center to work out…"

"Luffy…"

Zoro couldn't think of anything to say to that. He didn't know how to respond to this whole situation really. Not often was his company ever sought out by anyone besides Perona… and maybe Tashigi. Most of his life, he'd been on his own. People kept their distance from him and he did the same with them. It came naturally to him to be alone.

That wasn't something that was going to change just because Luffy or anyone else wanted it to.

"I have another question for you."

"… Shoot."

"What are your goals in life? Apart from getting a degree that is…"

"Well, I don't tell many people this, but I guess I can tell you. I… I want to prove myself as a swordsman to everyone. I want my name to be heard and revered throughout the seas. If that's for swordsmanship, or for rising in rank in the best college in this world, I've got something to prove."

"Oh? How are you gonna prove the swordsman part?"

The marimo looked out the window to the moon, "I plan to defeat a certain man, that's how."

"Oh…"

"No one thinks it's possible, but someday I'll beat him and prove myself."

"Does the red glasses girl know about him?"

"Don't go naming people based on their accessories!"

"Sorry, sorry… But really, does she know?"

"I can't think of a reason she wouldn't."

"Well…" Luffy started, "I believe in you, Zoro. The others would too… We're nakama, after all." he said and then closed his eyes.

After turning to stare at the boy, Zoro smiled. It was nice to hear that someone had faith in him, to know that someone cared. Even if it was coming from someone who would willingly submit to another man…

With that one statement, Luffy had said more than anyone since Kuina. That was for sure.

"I haven't smiled like this in a while…" he commented under his breath.

With a new-found comfort in the other man, and even in himself, he sat in place listening to his light snoring. He sure could fall asleep fast.

When Luffy started to slide along the wall in the opposite direction, Zoro caught the boy by wrapping his cuffed arms around him. He pulled Luffy up and rested his head full of black hair on his powerful shoulder.

It must have been getting late… He admitted to himself that he was getting a little tired.

"Those guys better let us out of here soon…" he said after yawning.

With the other resting comfortably on him, the man closed his eyes and let himself slip off to the land of dreams. He had slept next to Luffy once before, there would be no harm in doing so a second time.

* * *

Tashigi walked around the outside of the police station with a bright flashlight guiding her. Behind her trailed three of the police station guards.

"It's pretty late…" one of them commented.

"You're complaining about the time? I was supposed to have today off. I'm not even supposed to be here… but if it's to protect Tashigi-chan-"

"Don't steal my line!" the third interrupted.

"You know, you guys don't need to follow me… I'm just checking the breaker box." The girl turned and said.

"We'd do anything for you, Tashigi-chan!"

Said girl sighed and continued on her way.

Smoker had told her to go make sure nothing had blown out or been tinkered with. When she reached the metal box, she flashed her light onto it. Everything looked normal. The lock was still in one piece so no one had cut it.

She pulled out a key, got on her tip toes and then unlocked it.

Upon flashing her light inside the breaker box, she saw that nothing was wrong.

"Perhaps it was just an act of nature…"

"Tashigi-chan! Look!" one of the guards called.

The girl turned and saw that a tree had fallen onto one of the main power lines that led to the police station.

"That was all? I guess we were all hyped up for nothing." She smiled.

"Boys, please lift the tree from the line and then come back inside. Don't touch the power line unless you want to get hurt. We'll have the power back on in the morning when the electricians come."

"Yes ma'am!" the three of them answered in unison.

"I'll go report this to Captain Smoker."

... ... ...

After giving Tashigi her orders, checking on the students in the holding cells, and then checking on the other two in the holding room, Smoker made his way back to his office.

Hopefully Tashigi would be back in soon with her report.

The man unlocked his door and walked into the dark room. The moonlight bathed the majority of the things in his room in its white light. In the same chair he'd left him in was Trafalgar Law. He was asleep.

"I wasn't gone that long, was I?" he asked aloud.

After seeing the way Law's head was angled, Smoker realized the kid would probably wake with a crick in his neck.

He walked over and lifted the boy up bridal style and carried him over to the couch just beneath the window then carefully placed him down on it.

"Why am I being so considerate of him…?"

Tashigi watched from the doorway as Smoker stood over Law for a few moments. She adjusted her glasses shyly as the man brushed a stray lock of black hair from the boy's forehead.

"C- Captain Smoker…"

Said man jumped and turned around quickly, "What…?"

"Reporting, Sir! There were no issues with the breaker box. It was merely an act of nature. A tree had fallen onto the power lines."

"Is that so? Well that's enough for tonight, Tashigi. You can go home now."

"Yes sir. Have a good night, Captain Smoker." Said girl smiled and then left the office.

Smoker gripped his forehead and walked over to his seat.

He sat down, leaned back, and sighed, "Guess I can't leave him in my room unattended."

Many a times had he fallen asleep in this very chair. It wouldn't kill him to do so for one more night.

The last thing he could recall before he faded out was watching Law's tiny stomach rhythmically move up and down under his white t-shirt, basked in the dazzling light of the moon.


	9. SUPER Strange Feeling

Around seven o'clock the next morning, Tashigi made her way down the hall of the police station heading in the direction of the cell Roronoa and his eccentric friend had been placed in. Behind her was the Dean, known as Red-Haired Shanks… though most people just called him Dean Shanks.

He was dressed in a black button down shirt with a blue tie, gray slacks, and nicely polished dress shoes. Tashigi admired that he was so professional, or, at least he appeared to be.

"So, what did Luffy do to get himself tossed in a holding cell in just his first week of class…?" the man asked, breaking the silence between them.

"It's a long story… basically, he kind of flew off the handle a bit so we had to detain him." The glasses-wearing girl replied with a blush.

It was partly her fault that Luffy had overreacted the way he did in the first place. She was willing to own up to that. But regardless of her role in the situation, the kid had to learn that you don't just throw yourself at a high-ranking security guard, so his time in the holding room was necessary.

"Is that it?" Shanks asked when the solid iron door came into view.

"Yes sir. Let me unlock it and you can go inside to see him."

"Thank you, miss."

Tashigi quickly walked over to the door and stuck the keys inside.

Upon unlocking and opening the door, she felt her cheeks go warm at the sight in front of her.

Roronoa was over in the corner, fast asleep, with the rubber boy resting soundly on his chest. It was… unexpected... The way the two had acted towards each other yesterday, especially Roronoa, she'd imagined they weren't close at all. But this, this said the exact opposite.

"Is something wrong?" Shanks asked, and then walked up behind the girl.

"Um… I don't… think so…" Tashigi said, her voice full of uncertainty.

The moment Shanks saw Luffy resting on the strange student's chest, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" he shouted furiously, forgetting himself and his position at the university entirely.

Tashigi jumped in surprise at the outburst and got wide-eyed when Shanks ran over to Luffy and shook him violently.

"P- please be gentle with them!"

"WAKE UP, LUFFY! RIGHT NOW!" the redheaded man shouted.

When the boy opened his eyes, he released him and stared down at him disapprovingly.

Luffy yawned and then fell back into his previous position. It was then that he noticed he had slept on Zoro's chest. A streak of red found its way across his face and he looked up to the marimo, who was still asleep.

"Please calm down, Dean Shanks..." Tashigi pleaded, and then came in to put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Shanks?!" Luffy echoed, voice full of shock and fear.

"Luffy, what the hell are you doing?! Get off of this thug!"

"Leave me alone, Shanks!" the rubber boy exclaimed, and then buried his face in Zoro's chest.

Zoro, who was normally a heavy sleeper, couldn't resist slowly opening his eyes with all the shouting that was being done. He was shocked to see Tashigi and the Dean standing over him. "What the-" on looking down and seeing that Luffy had his face buried in his chest, he blushed. "Luffy…?"

"You!" Shanks shouted, and then pointed at Zoro.

"Dean, please-" Tashigi started.

"What do you think you're doing with Luffy?! You're nothing more than a thug who probably doesn't care about him one way or the other! Get off of him right now!"

"Wha…?" Zoro scratched his head questionably, then looked down at Luffy again, "Luffy… get up."

Said boy looked up at him and then turned to stare at Shanks, "Leave Zoro alone! He's my nakama!"

"The hell I will! Luffy, you can't date anyone without my say so! I thought you understood that!"

"No! I never agreed to that!"

"Look, I don't have a problem with you liking other men, but I'm gonna step in and say who you date… Because I don't want anyone taking advantage of you, and  _this one_  doesn't seem like he's any good whatsoever!" Shanks retorted, restraining his anger as best he could.

"Roronoa, are you dating this ruffian?" Tashigi asked curiously.

"N-no! We… I don't even know how we ended up like this…"

"You little liar!" Shanks shouted, and then jumped at Zoro.

Tashigi quickly stopped him and held him back with all her might, "Dean, please! You must stop! Have you forgotten yourself?! You know you can't harm a student! Besides, Roronoa is a good guy, I promise!"

Shanks turned to the girl and noticed how honest she seemed. It was hard to distrust the face of an angel. Deciding there was no reason for her to lie to him, he gave in and regained his composure, "… If you say so, young lady, then I will believe it."

"P- Please, follow me to Captain Smoker's office so we can discuss what will be done with these two."

"Right."

"We'll be back, you two." The girl said, and then led the now calm Dean out of the room.

When the door closed and locked again, Zoro looked down at Luffy for a moment. Luffy noticed it, so he turned to look back.

"Zoro…"

"Luffy…"

"I'm… sorry… for sleeping on you like that…"

"Don't… don't sweat it. We've slept together before, remember? Though, we weren't  _this_ close." The marimo said with a slight smirk.

Luffy sat up and scooted away from Zoro, then looked at the door.  _"Shanks…"_

Zoro inconspicuously stared at Luffy's backside, realizing that being close to him, again, wasn't as bad as he'd first thought it would be. Last night, he'd pulled him close to keep him from sliding to the floor. He didn't know why it happened, but he assumed when they fell asleep it must have been a mutual thing for them to have gotten closer like that.

"Sorry about Shanks… he's a little overprotective of me." Luffy turned and said.

"Oh… it's no big deal… really. He was jumping to conclusions anyway…"

"Shishi, yeah. I don't know why he thinks we're dating. We're just friends, after all."

"Right…" Zoro murmured.

Although he didn't know where the strange feeling was coming from or what it was, Zoro felt a tingle in his lower gut when he looked at Luffy. It made him… very uneasy…

* * *

A knocking on his office door caused the sleeping Smoker to fall out of his chair and onto the floor.

"What the hell…?" he said, and then wiped his eyes.

When he saw that his cigars had fallen from his mouth and hit the floor, he quickly picked up them up to prevent them from causing the carpet to catch fire.

He heard his captive chuckle from the couch and turned, "So you're awake, Trafalgar Law?"

Said man shook his head and then sat up. He immediately noticed that he was no longer in the chair he had fallen asleep in. "Did you carry me over here to this couch?" he asked Smoker.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You're making a bigger deal about it than necessary, don't you think?" the man responded.

"Tch! Don't answer my question with another question! That's so annoying!"

The door was knocked on again.

"It's open! Come in!" Smoker yelled from his seat on the floor.

Tashigi opened the door and stepped into the office, "Good morning sir. The Dean is here to discuss what's to be done with the three students we're holding because of yesterday's incident."

Law quickly hid his cuffed hands underneath him, and then sat up straight.

"Oh, right." Smoker said.

Shanks stepped into the office and smiled at his colleague, "You look well rested."

"I'm not, trust me."

"Who is that?" he asked, referring to the student on the couch.

"Oh, him… he's…" Smoker took a quick glance at Law and could see the anxiousness in his eyes. "A student who came to me yesterday and needed some guidance. I guess we fell asleep in here."

"Is that so?" Shanks asked, "Don't put your job on the line for a student, Smoker."

Tashigi sweatdropped,  _"That's exactly what you were doing for that gum boy…"_ she thought.

"I know. I don't need you to tell me that, Shanks."

"Right. Well anyway, we need to discuss the incident with Luffy."

"Right…"

Tashigi stared at Smoker questionably. Had he just given this other student, that he'd previously been neck and neck with, a cover story?

Shanks took a seat in the chair in front of Smoker's desk before speaking, "Your lovely officer here mentioned a third student was involved. Where is that one?"

"We let him go. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I see."

"Which one of the two in the holding room is Luffy?" Smoker asked Tashigi.

"The boy with black hair and the scar under his eye."

"That one. Well, we're holding him because he threw himself onto Tashigi and refused to let her go."

"Why did he-"

"I take some responsibility for that. I challenged Roronoa to a Kendo match by lifting my sword to him, and the rubber boy took it the wrong way. He seems to care about Roronoa a lot…"

"So he… was willing to get into trouble for that guy…?" Shanks commented.

"I guess so." Smoker said.

"I see… Well if that's the case, how long are you planning to keep them locked in that room together?"

"I- I don't know. It all depends on what the higher-ups-"

"How long do you plan to keep them in that room together, Smoker?" Shanks asked again, this time with more of a daunting undertone in his voice.

* * *

Luffy and Zoro were surprised when Tashigi came to their cell and released them.

"What happened? You're letting us go so easily?" Zoro asked.

"Well, Captain Smoker… with some pressure… said there was no reason to hold either you here anymore. You're both getting off with just a warning."

"A warning?" Luffy echoed.

"Yes, you spent the night in here instead of your warm beds, right? That's your warning Mr. Monkey D. Luffy. Stay in line on campus and you won't have to deal with us. Roronoa, you just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... I hate that that's the way the law works, but I can't fight it. Regardless, you're off with a warning as well. We also  _overlooked_  that incident about you fighting for that reindeer." The girl responded.

"Thank you, Tashigi." Zoro said, before he stood and helped Luffy up.

The two of them made to leave the holding cell without hesitation.

"I'll see you for that Kendo match soon, Roronoa." Tashigi said when they reached the door.

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

When the intimidating Dean left Smoker's office, Law allowed himself to have a moment of inward relief. If he'd even been  _hinted_  being suspected of working for Doflamingo… then he'd probably be put on probation. The university did not take that man's name lightly, or pussy foot around when it came to drugs and alcohol on campus.

" _The king of the island country, Dressrosa…"_

Smoker turned to the boy, "I'm going to catch you screwing up, kid. Count on it."

"Why didn't you tell the Dean about your little suspicions of me?"

"Hmph. He doesn't need to be concerned with a brat like you. As someone who is almost as busy as he is, I know he doesn't have time for an accusation… My reputation is on the line and I won't tarnish it by running the _slim_  possibility that you're innocent."

Law stood up and walked over to Smoker. He earned a confused look from the man until he held out his hands, "Aren't you going to let me go?"

"Unfortunately, I have to."

"Get to it then."

Smoker stood up abruptly from his seat and got right in Law's face, "Watch that tone of yours! I did you a favor by not reporting you. But I know all about you and your little gang. I just need solid evidence to put you away. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on you." He said, before pulling out the key to the handcuffs.

Law stared intently at Smoker. He'd have to be careful now that the Hunter was on his trail.

"That's right, I'm not as stupid or lazy as you think, kid."

"… Just let me go already…"

"Gladly. I can't wait 'til you screw up and get caught. I'll see you in cuffs again, I can assure you."

On that note, Smoker took Law's smaller hands into his own and stuck the key into the keyhole on the cuffs.

Law turned away and, to his surprise, he felt his cheeks go warm.

When the cuffs unlocked, he didn't pull away. He didn't know why, but he felt like maybe this guy could help him… Help him finally escape the past he'd been running from all this time.  _"No… He won't ever be of any help to me… I should just deal with this on my own…"_

After taking the handcuffs, Smoker turned away and dismissed the younger man.

"Thank you, White Hunter…" Law muttered almost inaudibly when he got to the door.

"What was that?"

"Nothing… Have fun at your job pestering students all day."

"G- Get out of my office before you find these cuffs around your wrists again!"

* * *

As he walked alongside Luffy in the grass on the way back to their dorm room, Zoro noticed the usually boisterous boy was now  _un_ usually silent. He wanted to say something. He wanted to put a smile on Luffy's face again for some reason. Him being quiet and looking glum… it just didn't suit him.

When they came to a more secluded area, he decided to try breaking the tension, "Luffy-"

"Wari, Zoro. It's all my fault we got in trouble. Then Shanks yelled at you because he thought we were dating." Luffy interrupted, "And now you're gonna be late to your class."

Unable to stand the look of discontent on Luffy's face, Zoro reached over and grabbed him by the shoulders and stared straight into his eyes, "Luffy, it's  _okay_. I'm not mad about trivial things like that. You were just being a good nakama. The fact that you wouldn't care if you got in trouble for helping me… it says a lot. I… really appreciate it. Not many people would stick their necks out for someone like me."

"Someone like you…?"

The marimo looked down at the buttons on Luffy's sleeveless shirt forlornly, "I'm not really good with people so I usually just keep to myself. Since I do that, I… well I  _do_  that because for the majority of my life, I've been on my own. I'm not trusting of others, and they're not trusting of me. I'm an outsider."

"Zoro… I trust you." Luffy smiled, and then lifted both of his hands to rest them on the arms of the man who was still holding his shoulders, "I like you a lot. I'd do anything for a nakama, you especially."

"Luffy-"

"Chopper really likes you, and Usopp, Robin, and Vivi seem to too. Even Nami and Sanji have a soft spot for you. So stop thinking that nobody cares. That's silly of you."

The two stood and stared into each other's eyes for a few silent moments after that.

After thinking it over, Luffy realized a hug might be appropriate in this situation. So, carefully and cautiously, he pulled Zoro by his arms into a warm hug. He was surprised when Zoro wrapped his arms around him tightly. And for a few minutes, they stayed just like that. Against what he knew was right, Luffy pressed his nose into the nape of Zoro's neck and smiled against it when he was not pushed away.

"… Luffy, I-"

"Isn't this a sight…"

Zoro looked up and Luffy turned around only to see Law approaching them.

"Traffy!" the gum boy grinned and pulled himself free from Zoro's embrace, much to Zoro's dismay.

"Stop calling me that, Mugiwara…"

With Luffy's embrace gone and the boy's attention on his strange friend, Zoro couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. This guy was able to capture Luffy's interest much easier than he was, it seemed. They were just in the middle of having a moment. He was finally opening up to someone, and getting some things off his chest… but…

" _Maybe it's best I don't open up too much… I've told Luffy enough already…"_  the marimo thought.

Luffy turned about face when Law came up to them. "Where were you, Traffy?! Why didn't they put you in the room with us?"

"Smoker wanted to talk to me."

Zoro raised a suspicious eyebrow, but remained quiet.

"Oh hey, we need to get back to our project!" Luffy said.

"I have class at nine thirty. But I'll meet you later today when I get out and we can continue working then."

"Okay, that's probably a good idea. I was thinking about skipping my first class today- WHOA!"

Both Zoro and Law nearly jumped when Luffy shouted.

"What is it, Luffy?"

"There's a ROBOT all the way over there!" the boy said, and pointed in the direction of the convenience store.

Both men looked in the direction he pointed to and saw a tall, bulky man with unusually large, mechanical arms. Before either of them could respond, Luffy dashed off towards him.

"LUFFY!"

"Mugiwara!"

"I'll come back after I meet him!"

Zoro folded his arms and sighed. He turned his attention from Luffy, who was sprinting away, to look at Law's backside for a moment. He felt like he should say something, but he couldn't. Luffy was just a friend to him, so it would be out of place for him to say something like "stay away from him."

On top of that, he wasn't into Luffy… or any other guys. But this guy smelled of suspicion and inauspicious activities.

Law shook his head, "And he wanted us to go on a date… No way I'd date someone so eccentric…"

Zoro stared wide-eyed at Law, unable to say anything. But he was baffled and undeniably upset that Luffy wanted to date this guy.

* * *

"OOOOOOIIIIIIIII! Robot man!" Luffy called as he sprinted towards his target.

Franky, a large, muscular, occasionally emotional, and tough-acting cyborg, had been doing a few repairs on one of the buildings at the university for the past two days. He couldn't hang on to money to save his life and had a gang of his own to manage back in Water 7. The gang came first, so when they recommended that he get back into carpentry and help them earn them some money, he couldn't refuse. After all, he was the leader. If he wasn't willing to take a chance, they wouldn't be either.

When he heard someone calling him a robot, he turned angrily and shouted, "Who are you calling a robot, bakayaro!"

Luffy came to a stop in front of the large man and smiled. A glint of exhilaration shimmered in his dark brown eyes. "YOU'RE SO COOL! DO YOU HAVE LASER BEAMS!? CAN YOU SHOOT FIRE?! WHO ASSEMBLED YOU?!"

"Hey, I'm not a robot! I'm a  _cyborg_! Nobody  _made_  me, I just made adjustments to myself!"

"OOOOH! HAHAHA! YOU'RE SO COOL! COME HANG OUT WITH ME AND MY NAKAMA! USOPP AND CHOPPER WOULD LOVE YOU!"

"I've got work to do, kid. I don't have time to play games."

"I'm not a kid!"

"You sure look like one…"

"You're not a nice robot!"

"I'm a  _cyborg_!" Franky said, and kept himself from punching this kid atop his head.

"Luffy?" a woman's calm voice called.

Luffy and Franky both saw Robin gracefully making her way over to them. Franky, however, was paying more attention to her than Luffy was.

"Oi! Hi Robin!"

"What are you doing?" the raven-haired woman asked with a smile when she reached the boy.

"I'm trying to make a new nakama! He's a robot, Robin!"

"Oh my!"

Franky shook his head and sighed, "I'm a cyborg!"

"Interesting. How did you come to be a cyborg?"

With a confident grin, and showing great interest in Robin, Franky responded, "It's a long story. I should tell you all about it sometime, shouldn't I?"

"I think that would be lovely. I feel like you may have killed some robots to incorporate their parts into yourself. I'd love to hear about that. Fufufufu!"

"Uh… no, not really." For a second, Franky started to reconsider being anywhere near this kid or this dark-humored woman.

But the woman, she was really beautiful… He had a hard time looking away from her.

"I'm Franky, Cyborg Franky. Can I pick you up later this evening and we talk about my modifications?"

"I don't see why not. I'm Nico Robin, it's nice to meet you, Franky."

"SUPEEEER! This is my week!" Franky grinned.

"What about me?!" Luffy shouted.

"Come on, Luffy. Won't you walk me back to the dormitory? My morning class was cancelled."

"… Fine…"

Looking over his shoulder at Franky the whole time as he walked away, Luffy sighed.

"Cheer up. You'll see him later tonight." Robin smiled.

"Really?!"

"Indeed. Fufufufu!"

When they reached Zoro, Robin greeted him, "Hello, Zoro."

"Hi Robin. Good to see you."

Luffy looked around curiously, "Where's Traffy?"

"He said he had things to do so he left."

"Oh. Well, I'll see him later then. Zoro! The robot man was so cool! He was mean, but cool!"

"Is that so?" Zoro asked with a smile, which Robin did not miss.

He couldn't help it. Luffy's child-like innocence was something he was really starting to enjoy.

"Um, I actually think I'll go to the bookstore." Robin said to Luffy.

"Really? You sure you don't wanna go back to the dorm and do nothing?" the boy asked.

"I'm sure. Besides, there's a new series I want to start and it should be available by now. I'll see you two later." She said, before waving and then heading off to the bookstore.

"Bye Robin! See you later!" Luffy shouted while waving the woman off.

When Robin was gone, Zoro stuck his hands in his pockets and continued on his way to the dorm. "I think I'm just gonna skip my classes today, Luffy." He said.

"Really?! Let's play video games then!" Luffy smiled, and then caught up with the man.

"Yeah… sure thing."


	10. A Kiss and a Warning

If Zoro was completely honest with himself, spending time with Luffy was nice. The kid was pretty exciting and just all around interesting. There wasn't ever a dull moment when he was around.

Currently, the two of them were alone in the living room of their dorm, sitting side by side on the couch, double teaming a Grand Prix round on Mario Kart. Luffy didn't seem to care for first place nearly as much as he wanted to make sure they both placed in the top three.

" _Even in video games he tries to be considerate of others."_ The marimo thought, before making a left turn in the castle.

"Zoro nooo! You're going the wrong way again!" the gum boy yelled when he saw it happen on the screen.

"Dang it!"

"How do you keep doing that when the arrows tell you where to go?! Now you're gonna end up in last place!" Luffy said poutingly. He was clearly more upset about the situation than Zoro was.

"I think I can still make the top six."

"No, everyone else is about to cross the finish line." Luffy said, and then made his character come to an abrupt stop.

"You don't have to lose the race for me, Luffy."

"I know, but if you go down, I'll go with you. We do it together."

With a sigh, Zoro got up and turned off the console. "Let's do something else." He said, and then put his controller on the floor in front of the television stand.

"What did you have in mind?"

When Luffy looked up at him, Zoro felt a tinge of discomfort in his lower gut again. It made him so uncomfortable that he had to look away. "I don't know… Let's go eat lunch or something… It is about to be noon."

"Yeah, good idea! I hope they have lots of meat!" Luffy exclaimed.

It really didn't seem to take much to excite him.

"C'mon then. I'll treat you." Zoro said with a smile.

* * *

During the trip across campus, which was bustling with other students eager for lunch, Zoro and Luffy were forced to walk close to one another almost the whole way. They ended up back-to-front in a tight crowd, trying to get through a narrow walkway.

With Luffy's backside right up against his torso, Zoro couldn't help but blush. It was too suggestive, too inappropriate. Luckily Luffy never turned around, otherwise he would have surely seen the redness on his cheeks.

It didn't take them long to get out of the crowd, and he was thankful for that.

When they literally popped out of the crowd, they went to stand off near the stairway in order to decide which restaurant they would eat at.

When he noticed someone familiar approaching them, Luffy tugged at Zoro's sleeve. "Oi, Zoro! Isn't that the girl you're always trying to avoid?" he asked.

"Uh- Perona?! Oh no!"

For a moment, Zoro thought about grabbing Luffy and ducking off into an alley or something, but that wouldn't work as she had them in her sights now.

"Zoro!" she yelled, and then started fast-walking towards them.

Said man stood in place, completely fearful of what was to come.

When Perona reached them, Luffy smiled at her. "How're you today, Ghost Girl?"

"That's not my name, baka! It's Perona! Pe-ro-na!"

"Oi, where's your bear thingy?" he asked, and then stuck his pinky finger up his nose.

"I left him in my room, not that it's any of your concern… Stop picking your nose in public, you urchin! So impolite!"

"What are you doing here, Perona?" Zoro asked, stepping in front of Luffy.

"I was about to get lunch and I just happened to see you here… with your  _boyfriend_  at that. What a coinkydink."

Taking the shorter boy by the arm, Zoro made to leave. "Well, we were about to try to beat the lunch rush so we don't have time to-"

"Hold it right there, mister! I've been suspicious of you since I heard that ridiculous tale about you dating this baka. I did some thinking, and I honestly can't believe you two are dating."

"How do you expect me to respond to that? Luffy and I are together and there's nothing more to say about it. Believe it if you want to, or don't."

Perona looked back in forth between the two in front of her suspiciously, and then she hatched an idea. "I want proof."

"Proof?" Both Luffy and Zoro asked at the same time, Luffy having asked from over Zoro's broad shoulder.

"Prove to me that you're dating. I want the two of you to kiss. For ten seconds!"

Zoro's jaw dropped. He could've gone through the ground for how unprepared for that he was. Though, he knew something like this would happen eventually with a lie of this kind. He closed his mouth, swallowed down a mouthful of saliva and felt himself getting sweaty all over, especially his palms. Looking down to Luffy, who was standing right next to him, he didn't know what to do. Should he go through with it? Or face Perona's punishment for lying to her…?

"Not going to do it?" the pinkette asked.

"I… I…"

Luffy stared up at the stuttering Zoro for a moment. He was clearly frenzied about this. "Maybe we should do it somewhere less out in the open. Zoro's not the kind of guy who likes doing that kind of stuff in public."

"I don't care where you do it, just do it soon. I don't plan to stay with you two all day." The girl said.

"How about behind that building?" Luffy asked, and then pointed to the science annex.

"Your choice."

Zoro stayed quiet, even as he followed Luffy and Perona to their designated spot. He wasn't sure about this. He wasn't sure taking things this far was worth it. But honestly, Perona could do some frightening things when she was ticked off. The last thing he wanted was to have her find out that he had carried on with Usopp's lie.

Luffy stopped when he and the other two were successfully out of sight to the public eye. Surrounded by bricks on one side and trees on the other, this little walkway provided the perfect cover in case Zoro did actually want to go through with this.

Staring up at the man, he wondered what he was thinking about right now.

He looked really nervous. And uncomfortable.

This was no way for his nakama to be feeling while he was around.

If he admitted it, he, too was a bit uncomfortable. Kissing Zoro would definitely put a damper on their friendship. He had  _just_  gotten him to open up a bit more.

It's not like he really wanted to do this either. That was because of the talk they had that time in Zoro's room. He told him he wasn't going to start liking him, and that's exactly what he had done. Keeping that part of his emotions out of the equation of their friendship seemed to be the best option, as that is what he had told Zoro he would do.

"Are you two going to do it or not?" Perona asked, interrupting Luffy's train of thought.

"We're…" Zoro couldn't think of anything to say.

Cautiously, he lifted his hands and rested them gently on Luffy's slender shoulders.

"Zoro…" the shorter boy mumbled.

The two of them made eye contact and Luffy felt his body go warm, especially his cheeks. There was something about Zoro that he did like. He couldn't deny that any longer. But this was still so wrong…

"Luffy…" Zoro said quietly.

He leaned in slowly until he was only an inch away from the boy's nose.

Luffy leaned up and, instead of kissing Zoro, he pressed his lips against his ear. "Zoro… you don't have to do this, you know." He whispered, "This isn't what you really want, is it?"

Zoro shivered when he felt Luffy's lips moving against his skin. It was titillating.

"Luffy… I have to…" he responded.

Perona noticed their position and stomped her foot. "What is going on here?!" she shouted.

Luffy lifted his hands and gripped Zoro's arms softly. "It's okay. I'll take care of this." He said, and then stepped back from him.

"I knew you two weren't dating!"

"That's right, we're not! Zoro doesn't like guys and he doesn't like you either!"

"Oh!"

"Well, I guess he does like you as a person, but he doesn't want to be with you! You're mean and unfriendly and you call him a baka all the time! Of course he wouldn't want to date you again!"

Perona's pink eyebrows knitted down and she gripped her umbrella. "How dare you say things like that to me?! Zoro, make him stop!" she insisted.

Said man turned and faced Perona, then scratched his head. "He's right… I only said I was dating him so you wouldn't ask me to take you out. I don't want to date you, Perona. I just want to be friends."

And just like that, a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was all thanks to Luffy that he gained the courage to speak up for himself to her.

But he knew the fit was coming. Closing his eyes tight, he prepared himself for the punishment he was about to receive.

When it did not come, he opened an eye to make sure he hadn't died an instant death.

All he found was Perona standing with an unusually sad look on her face.

"You don't want to date me?" she asked crestfallenly.

"No… Not anymore. You and I are better off as friends. I never meant to lie to you, but you can be… kind of abrasive when you don't get your way."

Both Zoro and Luffy watched in anticipation as Perona stood in front of them, completely quiet and unmoving.

"Perona, don't be upse-"

"No, save your breath, baka! I've got plans today and they don't involve you! Goodbye!" the girl said, then turned and stormed off.

"Perona!" Zoro called.

"It's okay, Zoro. I think she just needs some time to be alone." Luffy said. When he got no response from the other, he put his hands into his pockets, "We don't have to get lunch if you don't-"

Quickly, Zoro turned, grabbed Luffy by the shoulders, and then pulled him into a kiss.

Luffy was surprised, so surprised that it took him a moment to react. Encouragingly, he placed his hands on Zoro's arms and returned his kiss.

It was innocent. Nothing serious. Just a simple kiss on the lips.

Zoro pulled away and avoided making eye contact with the shorter boy in front of him. "That was for helping me… I'm still not into guys, but you deserved that. So thanks, Luffy…" he said nervously.

"Zoro…" Luffy began, "You stole my first kiss!" he shouted.

"W- what?" the marimo asked, voice full of shock.

"I was going to kiss Traffy and have him be the first guy I kiss, but you stole it from me!"

"I … Gomen, Luffy… I didn't know…" Zoro muttered sincerely.

Although, to his own surprise, he was disappointed that Luffy wanted that Trafalgar guy to be his first kiss. He didn't realize that Luffy had never kissed anyone before.

"I guess it's okay. I mean, it was just a kiss."

"Yeah…" the marimo said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oi, let's go get lunch! I'm really hungry and you said you were treating me!"

"Oh, right. Let's get going then."

* * *

Nami, having just gotten out of her history class, walked fast in the direction of her dorm. She had important news to share with her friends that could not wait. Of course, it would probably be announced across campus towards the end of the day, but she wanted to do it as soon as possible.

Looking up at the sky, she wondered how it had come to this.

" _I hope we'll be okay…"_  she thought.

Just as she came up on the library, Robin stepped out of the massive building with a book under her arm and greeted her, "Good afternoon, Nami." She said with a welcoming smile.

"Robin! You have to come with me!" Nami responded.

She quickly grabbed Robin by the arm and led her in the direction of the dorm.

"Nami, what's going on? Is everything alright?" the raven-haired woman asked.

"Nami-swaaaaan! Robin-chwaaaaan!"

Both women turned and saw Sanji coming their way with an excited look on his face.

"Sanji-kun! Perfect timing!"

"Helloooooo ladies! Did you two have a lovely day?!" the blonde asked eagerly.

"No time for that right now! Come with us, Sanji-kun! There's something important I need to tell you all!"

"Anything for you, my dear! I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth and back if you asked me to!"

With Sanji and Robin behind her, Nami hurried to their hall and entered the lobby. She rushed over to the elevator, pressed the button, and then waited for a few seconds as it came down from the eighth floor before she could take no more. "Raaaaagh! Up the stairs!" she exclaimed, and then took off with Sanji right on her heels and Robin just a few paces behind them.

When the three of them got up to the fourth floor, Nami tore down the hallways and banged at her door. "Vivi! Vivi come outside, hurry!"

Robin leaned heavily against the wall to catch her breath. Sanji came over to her and took out a notebook to use as a fan for her, "Oh Robin-chan! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've had to run so fast!" the woman responded with a smile.

As soon as Vivi opened the door, Nami nearly pounced on her. "Vivi, I'm so glad you're here!"

"What's wrong Nami?" said girl asked confusedly.

"The other guys aren't here, but I guess I can tell you three and just let the word spread…"

"Nami, what has you in such a frenzy?" Robin asked.

"There's a storm coming! A hurricane! They're going to cancel classes for the next two days until it passes and have us stay in our dorms. I'm so worried about everyone... The weather seems fine right now, but near midnight things are going to get ugly…"

"That sounds horrible." Vivi said, "Shouldn't they move us to the university center? It is the largest place on campus…"

"They can't. There's some kind of mold in the ceiling from the last storm they're still taking care of. So my professor said they were going to just have us stay in our rooms and have hall monitors on the first floors of each building."

"I'll tell the guys about it. If you're concerned Nami-san, I know this is going to be serious." Sanji said.

"Good. And tell Chopper, too. He should stay with us during the storm instead of being alone in his room."

"Right." Without another word, Sanji hurried down the hallway and rounded the corner to get to his room.

Vivi got an idea and stepped out into the hallway. "Nami, do you think… maybe we should stay with the boys during the storm? I'm kind of worried about them."

"Hmm. I don't think so. Besides, there's no room in their dorm for three girls." The orange-haired girl responded.

"Why don't we ask them to stay with us then?" Robin asked. "We have the extra bedroom for now. Plus you and I can share a room, which will free another room up for them instead of making them sleep on the couch. Chopper can sleep in Vivi's room, if she doesn't mind."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Vivi smiled.

"Wh- Don't I get a say in this?!" Nami asked.

"Come on, Nami. It'll be a good way for everyone to bond." Robin offered.

With big puppy dog eyes, Vivi turned to Nami. "Pleeeease?!" she said.

"… Fine… But don't come crying to me when the bath tub is filled with hair and dirt and… ugh, I don't even wanna think about what else…"

"We'll at least have Sanji's heavenly cooking to hold us over."

"Hm, you're right! Why didn't I come up with this idea?!" Nami grinned.

She stepped into the dorm, followed by Vivi and Robin, and then went into her room alone to prepare it for the boys' arrival.

* * *

When Sanji walked into the dorm, he noticed that only Chopper and Usopp were there, playing video games. "Where's Luffy and that marimo?" he asked.

"They're at lunch." Chopper smiled.

"Lunch? They're eating lunch…  _together_?"

"Yup! I saw them on my way here. I was going to eat with them, but they seemed to be having a good time together, so I kept going."

"And I saw him, so I let him in with me." Usopp added.

Sanji put his booksack down on the floor and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Well, I guess we can tell them when they get back."

"Tell them what?" Chopper asked.

"Nami-san said there's a hurricane approaching the school. Classes will be cancelled for at least two days until it passes and we're all going to be confined to our dorm halls."

"Oh… I guess I'll be all alone in mine…" the reindeer muttered.

Sanji shook his head disapprovingly. "Urusai. You're going to stay with us."

"Really?"

"Of course! We'd never leave you all alone, you know." Usopp assured.

"… I…"

"Hey, I'll go with you to pick some stuff up from your room if you need it." Sanji said, and then stood from his seat.

Eagerly, Chopper hopped off the couch. "Okay! Let's go now!" he said.

"Hey Usopp, you can hold down the fort until we get back. If Luffy and the marimo come back before we do, tell them about the hurricane."

"Gotcha! Don't anger any giants on your way across campus!" The long-nosed boy replied before continuing his game.

"Be back in a few."

Sanji walked over to the door, opened it, and let Chopper leave before he left the room himself.

* * *

With a large plate full of meat, Luffy practically danced his way across the restaurant back to the table where Zoro was seated.

"Oi, Luffy. How much do you plan to eat? I know it's a buffet and all, but still… I think your eyes might just be bigger than your stomach…"

"I'm almost done! I promise!" the gum boy said, and then took a seat next to the marimo.

"So…" Zoro began, and then looked down at his empty plates, "I- uh, I'm sorry about earlier… I didn't know you were saving your first kiss... I was just being stupid."

"No, you were just being nice and thankful to me for helping you with Ghost Girl. No worries."

"You sure?"

"Definitely." Luffy assured. It's not like he hadn't enjoyed it…

"Alright then."

"Hey there, Mugiwara."

Zoro looked up and Luffy turned around at the sound of that voice.

"Traffy! What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way back to my room and I saw you here, so I thought I'd see what you were up to."

"Sit with us!" Luffy said excitedly, and then pulled a chair out from under the table.

Zoro leaned forward and rested his head on his fist apathetically. This was the last person he wanted to see right now. The way Luffy looked at him, the way he acted around him, and the smiles he gave him… those kinds of things unsettled him for some reason.

Law took a seat next to Luffy and across from Zoro. "Do you want to start on our project in a bit?" he asked.

"I guess we should…"

"Alright. … I wonder what they're having for lunch today."

When Law turned and looked at the buffet line, Luffy quietly scooted his chair a little closer to him. Zoro noticed and felt himself growing jealous.

Not wanting to feel like a third wheel, but with some reservation about leaving Luffy alone with Law, Zoro stood up from his seat. "Luffy, I'm going back to the room. See you later."

"Huh?! Okay, but we can go with you! I wanna introduce Traffy to everyone. Let me finish my food!"

"Don't you need to work on your project?"

"I guess. Oi, Traffy," the boy said. Law turned his attention back to Luffy.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go with me to my room?"

"What about the project?"

"We can figure that out later. I've got some Adobe programs on my computer that Ace bought me so we won't even need to go to the lab."

Law sighed. "Well hurry and finish eating so we can-"

As wide as he possibly could have with the Sea Prism-infused walls around, Luffy stretched his mouth open and emptied his plate. Zoro was shocked and a little disturbed, but not as much as Law.

"Okay, let's go!" the gum boy shouted.

* * *

Usopp was glad to see Luffy and Zoro when they entered the dorm, but he was unsure who the other person was that accompanied them.

"Hey Usopp!" Luffy smiled, and then walked over to him. "What you up to?" he asked nosily, then put his hands behind his back innocently.

"Just playing some Mario for now. Oh, and Sanji-kun told me to tell you and Zoro that Nami said there's going to be a storm coming tonight. A hurricane, I think."

"A hurricane? But it looks fine outside." Zoro said, and then took a seat on the couch next to the long-nosed boy.

"I know, but if Nami says it's going to happen, I believe her." Usopp looked up to Law when he came and stood next to Luffy. "I'm Usopp. Are you a friend of Z-"

"That's Luffy's friend." Zoro interrupted.

"His name is Traffy!"

"No it's not. My name is Trafalgar. Trafalgar Law." The tattooed man stated.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, Trafalgar."

"The same to you."

"Oi, Traffy, let's go to my room! We can start thinking about what we're going to do for our project."

Law stepped back and motioned for Luffy to lead the way.

Luffy did just that with a big grin on his face.

Zoro rolled his eyes and folded his arms together before sitting back on the couch.

Once they were gone and he heard the door close, Usopp turned to the tan marimo. "Hey Zoro…"

"Huh?"

"Um… well never mind…"

"I… think I'm gonna go take a nap." Zoro said.

He stood up, stretched his arms out, and then headed to his room. Nothing would clear his mind better than taking a nice long nap. After all, he had had a long day with Luffy... Not to mention getting unusually stressed when that Law guy came around.

When he got into his room, he closed the door and walked over to his bed. After taking his boots off, pulling out his golden earrings, and taking his shirt off, he fell face first onto his bed.

"… Luffy…" he mumbled into the sheets, before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Sanji opened the door to the dorm and let Chopper and Nami walk in ahead of him. Nami had seen him coming and decided to join them since she had nothing else to do.

"Hey Nami." Usopp smiled.

"Hi Usopp." Said girl responded. She walked to the center of the living room and put her hands on her hips. "Where are Luffy and Zoro?"

"They're both in their rooms. I think Zoro said something about taking a nap."

"Well, I wanted to tell you guys are going to stay in our dorm with us for the next two days until the storm passes."

Sanji's nose started bleeding profusely, causing Chopper to run over to him. "Is that so?!" he asked.

"Yes. After talking about it, we all realized it would be better to have some guys around to keep us company during the storm."

Chopper changed from his regular state to his human one to catch Sanji as he collapsed from nearly fainting.

"There won't be any funny business, though…  _Sanji-kun_. It would just be safest for us all to be together, that's all." The orange-haired girl said.

"What about me, Nami?" Chopper asked.

"You're going to be staying in Vivi's room with her. Two of you will use my room, and the other two will use our empty room. … Which makes me wonder if we're  _ever_  going to get another roommate…"

It  _would_  be nice for another girl to join their group.

"Who's staying in your room?!" Sanji asked, and then held his nose tightly shut.

"I don't know. You boys will have to figure that out on your own."

"So wait… You're going to be sleeping in the same room with Robin-san?"

"Yes. This is basically a win-win situation. You boys won't have to be so cramped, and we get gourmet food and protection during the storm."

Failing to see the logistics in this scenario, Usopp scratched his head confusedly, "But… if we just stayed here in our room, we'd be fine. It kind of seems like we'd be inconveniencing ourselves to stay with-"

"Well we want you in our dorm for the storm. Are you objecting to that?"

"No he's not! And neither are Luffy or the marimo!" Sanji answered for Usopp.

"Good. You guys can follow me when I go to the room later… Oh… and Robin said something about a cyborg visiting us, so be prepared for that."

"A CYBORG?!" Chopper and Usopp asked excitedly, their eyes glimmering unrealistically bright.

"I think so… Anyway, give me a controller, Usopp. I wanna play, too." Nami smiled, and then took a seat next to him on the couch.

She hoped that the hurricane would come and go without doing too much damage.


	11. Owning Up

Luffy and Law, sitting alone on Luffy's bed, had spent about three hours working on their cooperative 2D project, using Luffy's laptop to do so.

Wanting to break the silence between them and just talk to Law, Luffy looked over to the other man. "Oi, Traffy." He said.

"Yeah?" Law asked.

"What were you doing while me and Zoro were locked in that room last night?"

With a blush running across his face, the tattooed man rolled his eyes trying to feign annoyance. "Smoker kept me in his office. He wanted to talk to me about something…"

"Oh…" Luffy said. Though he was curious, he knew better than to pry.

"Hey, you wanna call it quits on the project for today?"

"Yeah, I was getting a little bored with it."

Falling back onto the sheets, Law sighed. "Hey Mugiwara." He called.

"Hm?"

"Have you… did you ever get into something you didn't really want to get into in the first place, but you didn't really know how to get out of it, so in the end you just ran away from it?"

"No. If I have a problem, I face it head on. Running away would only make it worse." The gum boy responded seriously.

"You think so… huh?"

"Traffy, where is this coming from?" Luffy asked, and then turned to look the man in the face again.

Law fake smiled and raised his hands defensively. "It's nothing! I was just curious about you… your personality, I mean."

"Oh…"

For a few minutes, the two of them sat in silence. Law closed his eyes to avoid looking at Luffy. There was something about him that was so straightforward and honest, which he envied a bit.  _"Must be nice to live life that way."_

He opened his eyes, though, when he felt Luffy lay down on his stomach. "What are you doing, Mugiwara?"

Luffy looked up and grinned with his eyes closed, "Traffy, you should really go out with me."

"I already told you I don't date guys."

"When was the last time you dated a girl, then?"

"… I…"

"What's your beef with dating a guy?"

"Well… I don't want to deal with the extra meat if you catch my drift."

"I love meat! It's the best thing in the world!" Luffy said with a big smile.

"You're so naïve, Mugiwara…"

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Both Luffy and Law looked in the direction of the door just before it flew open.

Standing in the doorway was Nami and Sanji, who was right behind her.

"L-Luffy! What are you doing?!" Nami asked as a blush found its way to her cheeks.

Sanji looked over her shoulder. "Nami-swaaan, you look so adorable when you blush!" he exclaimed with a heart for an eye.

Law sat up, causing Luffy to do the same.

"Guys, this is Traffy-"

"Trafalgar…"

"… And he's a friend I met in my 2D class. Traffy, these are… well… Sanji is one of my roommates and a nakama of mine. Nami might as well be a roommate, too."

"What's  _that_  supposed to mean?" the orange-haired girl asked, and then entered the room.

"It's nice to meet you guys." Law said.

Sanji came in behind Nami and started massaging her shoulders. "It's okay, Nami-san. If you want to move in-"

"That's not what I'm here for and you know it." Nami said, and then turned back to Luffy and Law.

For a moment, she took note of Law's attire. Then she noticed his tattoos and ear piercings. Nothing about him seemed right for Luffy, yet Luffy seemed extremely attached to him. "Luffy."

"Hm?"

"Pack some things you use every day. You and the rest of the boys will be staying with us girls for the next two days."

"What? Why?!"

"Because a hurricane is on its way and we want you guys to stay in our room with us. We're going to be confined to this hall anyway, so we might as well make some fun out of it."

"I don't wanna!"

Nami leaned over Luffy with a sad and frightened expression. "B- but Luffy… What if something happens to us…? We wouldn't be able to defend ourselves…" she said, sure her ploy would work.

"I said-"

"We're going, Luffy." Sanji interrupted.

"But-"

"No excuses. Besides, I'm cooking a roast and stew for dinner."

"Uh- MEAT! I'm so there!" the boy said, his mood changing dramatically.

"Great!" Nami smiled and brought her hands together. "I'll leave you to pack your things. You and Zoro can come over when you're ready. Come on Sanji-kun, let's go."

"Yes my dear!" Sanji replied gladly and followed Nami out of the room.

When the two of them were gone, Law turned to Luffy. "I guess I'll get going in a bit too, then."

"Oh, okay…" Luffy said, and then sighed.

He really did want to spend some more time with Law, but tonight just didn't seem like his night. Well, at least there would be meat for dinner.

* * *

"Zorooo!" Chopper said as he bounced up and down on the man's bed excitedly. "Get up! We're spending the night in the girls' dorm room!"

Zoro sat up quickly and looked around.

"What? What's going on…?"

Chopper stopped bouncing and looked up at the marimo. "I said we're all staying the night in the girls' room. There's a hurricane coming and they want us to stay with them. Classes have been cancelled for the next two days at least, so Nami thought we could all get together and have fun."

"Why would I go along with something like that? Sounds inconvenient, stuffing eight people into one dorm."

"… Cuz it's fun! C'mon, Zoro!"

"Count me out."

"Oh… well, okay. By the way," the reindeer began as he got off of the bed, "Nami said something about there being alcohol-"

"I'm there!"

It was bad enough for students to have liquor on campus, so if Nami wanted to run the risk of someone finding it in her room, that was her decision. If she was willing to share that liquor, though, he had his reason for staying with her and the other girls.

With a big smile at Zoro's decision, Chopper jumped up and down. "Yaaaay! Let's go!"

"Why are we going now? Isn't it the middle of the day?"

Walking over to the curtains, Chopper pulled them back to reveal a dark evening sky full of menacing clouds. "Your nap must have lasted longer than you thought it would."

"Yeah… I guess so…"

"Well, pack some things so we can get going."

"Right."

Zoro quickly got out from under his sheets and then picked up his empty gym bag to put some clothes and other things into it to prepare himself for the next two days.

Chopper went out and waited for him in the hallway. When he heard Luffy and another man's voice coming from Luffy's room, he wondered who it was that Luffy had brought to the dorm.

He turned anxiously when Zoro came out of his room with his bag over his shoulder.

"What's wrong with you, Chopper?" the marimo asked, and then closed his door.

"Uh… nothing… Let's go on ahead of Lu-"

A laugh from Luffy's room interrupted Chopper, causing him to look at Zoro nervously.

"It sounds like Luffy's still here." The man commented.

When Zoro made to walk across the hall to Luffy's room, Chopper stepped in his way and threw his hooves up. "Luffy's just packing! Sanji and Nami already told him about the storm." He said. One thing about Chopper was that he didn't like seeing his friends discontent. And he knew that for Zoro, seeing Luffy with other guys unsettled him.

"Oh?"

"Mhm! He shouldn't be much longer. We should go on ahead of him."

"Alright."

Chopper sighed a breath of relief when Zoro headed to the front door. He followed behind him and smiled when they reached the kitchen, but suddenly Luffy came out of his room.

He turned around, while Zoro looked over his shoulder at they boy.

"Oi! Chopper! Zoro!"

"Luffy…" Chopper said, before turning to look back at Zoro.

"Chopper, this is my friend, Traffy. He's touchy about his name." Luffy said after Law came out of the room and the two of them walked into the kitchen.

"My name is Trafalgar…"

"It's nice to meet you, Trafalgar. I'm Chopper, and this is-"

"I've met him before." Zoro interrupted.

"Oh…"

"Luffy, I'm going to the girls' room with Chopper."

"Okay! I'm gonna walk Traffy to his dorm, then I'll-"

"I can walk myself…" Law said.

"But-"

"I don't need a bodyguard, Mugiwara. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Luffy… maybe you should let him go alone. If he wants to, don't stop him…" Chopper advised.

"I'll be fine, Mugiwara."

"If you say so." Luffy said.

After walking to the door, Law turned and waved. "See you guys around." He said, and then left.

Chopper avoided looking at Zoro. In fact, he looked to the floor and kept quiet, feeling the tension coming from Zoro's direction.

"Oi, what are we just standing in here being quiet for? Let's go to the girl's room!" Luffy said.

With his booksack on his back, he walked past Zoro and Chopper and left the room.

"Right." Zoro said, "Coming Chopper?"

"Y-yeah!"

When he got into the hallway, Zoro turned and locked the door. Just as he did, Usopp came running towards him.

"Usopp?"

"What's wrong?" Chopper asked.

"I forgot something in the room. You guys can go on ahead."

"Gotcha." Zoro said, and then he and Chopper started on their way to the girls' room.

The walk there was quiet. Chopper avoided saying anything at all because he didn't know  _what_  to say. Making small talk would be useless, as Zoro was already a man of few words… well, fewer than most.

When they arrived at the door to the girls' room, Zoro knocked on the door.

He and Chopper heard mumbling, and then the door flew open.

"Chopper, you convinced Zoro to come?" Nami asked.

"Yup! He's really excited about-"

"Uh spending time with everyone!" Zoro interrupted. The last thing he wanted was for Nami to know that he was here primarily for her booze.

"Well that's… unexpected… But come on in." the girl said, stepping aside so they could enter.

"Oi! Wait for me!" Usopp called.

Before he stepped inside, Zoro saw that he was running with some kind of mechanical contraption. "What's that?" he asked.

"Hehe! Why it's my project, of course! One I'm definitely going to get an A on!"

"Good luck with… whatever it is you're making…"

"Thanks, Zoro-kun!"

"Did you make sure to lock the door? You know it's got a trick lock that keeps it from closing all the way sometimes."

"Don't worry about it!" Usopp said with a smile.

"Get inside already!" Nami shouted while holding the doorknob and tapping her foot.

"Nami, try not to yell." Vivi called from her room.

"Right… I forgot I can be a little abrasive…"

The second he entered the dorm, Zoro glanced around, thirsty for some alcohol. It had been a while since he last had a drink, and he was ready to empty a few of the girls' liquor bottles.

All he saw, though, were everyone's familiar faces. In the kitchen was Eyebrow, who was cooking, and Chopper, at the door was Nami and Usopp, and on the couch...

Luffy, Robin, and the cyborg guy from earlier were seated. Luffy was poking and prodding all over the guy, who was asking him to stop.

"Who is that?" Chopper asked as hr came up next to Zoro and then saw Franky.

"That's a cyborg man Luffy met earlier-"

"Cyborg!?" Chopper shouted excitedly.

"That guy is a cyborg?!" Usopp added.

"Yeah, and he's been here for a while." Nami said, and then went and took a seat in the kitchen.

Franky turned, while holding Luffy off, and looked at Chopper when he walked into the living room. "Oh no, not another one!" he shouted, noticing the look of awe on the reindeer's face.

Zoro shook his head and then headed into the hallway where there were four doors, just like in their room.

"Where am I sleeping?" he asked, directing his question at Nami.

"Well, since Usopp and Sanji-kun were the first ones to get here, they're sharing my room-" when Sanji's nose started bleeding, Nami turned to him and held up a napkin for him. "So I guess you'll be rooming with Luffy."

"… Which one will we be in?"

"The one furthest back on the right."

"Let me know when you guys start drinking." Zoro said, and then headed to the room Nami told him about.

As soon as he opened the door, he sighed. Sitting on the bed was Luffy's bag, which meant he'd probably be bunking on the floor.

"I wonder if Eyebrow will sleep in Nami's bed." He said with a smirk.

Honestly, that guy was far too interested in her.

With a sigh, he took a seat on the floor next to the bed and then leaned heavily against it. The sheets were nice and thick. Luffy would sleep well bundled up in them tonight.

He sat alone in the room, listening to the sound of the rain beginning to fall for quite a while. It was very relaxing.

When Vivi walked past the doorway and saw Zoro sitting on the floor, she smiled and stepped into the room.

"Hi Zoro. What are you doing in here all alone? Everyone's getting on so well in the living room. Luffy and Franky are really bonding now that Franky showed everyone some of his tricks. Not to mention Luffy's much more relaxed now that he's eaten some food…"

"I'm just getting ready for bed." Zoro responded.

"Hm, that's no fun. Nami brought out the drinks if you want to come join us."

"… Of course. I can sleep late tomorrow, anyway. Classes are cancelled, after all."

"Teehee." Vivi laughed.

"Oi, Zoro-kun! You decided to join us!" Usopp smiled when Zoro and Vivi came into the living room.

"I thought you were going to turn in early." Chopper added.

"I convinced him to come out for a bit." Vivi smiled, and then took a seat on one of the floor cushions next to Nami.

The orange-haired girl looked up at Zoro and shrugged. "I figured you'd just stay in the room all day, so it would have been no problem having you over… but don't think you can inhale our alcohol, mister." She said.

Zoro took a seat on the floor next to the coffee table. Sanji came over to him and offered him a glass of rum.

Seeing the bottle in the man's hand, Zoro reached up and took it instead of the glass.

"Oh- what did I JUST SAY?!" Nami shouted.

"I'll buy you some more." Zoro said, and then started drinking from the bottle.

"You say that now, but you probably don't mean it."

"Nami, we have plenty more where that came from." Robin said.

She had consumed the least of anyone in the room.

After finishing his drink, Chopper smiled and started changing his forms sporadically, Usopp sitting on top of him as he did. Sanji was playing a dancing video game with Vivi cheering him on. Nami had gone into the kitchen to get more rum and a bowl of Sanji's stew.

"You guys are a lot of fun!" Franky shouted. "I haven't laughed this much in a while!" he said as Chopper and Usopp joined Sanji.

"Fufufu!" Robin smiled. "What are you going to do for the night? It's starting to rain outside." She asked.

"He can sleep on the couch." Nami said as she came back into the room with more rum and a bowl of stew in her hands.

"Hahaha! Good because I think I'm too drunk to try getting back into town!" Franky said, and then held up his glass to Nami.

Looking up on the couch, Zoro noticed that Luffy had red cheeks with an empty glass in his hand. He looked really, really…  _"Drunk…"_  he thought, shaking his head of any inappropriate thoughts.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy said over the music from Sanji's game.

"I see you can't hold your alcohol." Zoro responded.

Putting his empty glass down on the table, Luffy got up from his seat next to Franky and walked over to then sat down next to the marimo.

With everyone else busy socializing or just being noisy, Zoro was glad that Luffy had chosen to come be with him.

"Luffy." He called, looking down at his bottle of rum.

"Hm?"

"I know I said it earlier, but I'm sorry about kissing you." He spoke softly so only Luffy could hear.

"Shishi, I told you it was no big deal."

"I know… I'm really glad to have a nakama like you, Luffy. And that's not the alcohol talking."

"I'm glad you're mine, too, Zoro!"

For a while, the two of them conversed about unimportant things. Then they turned and watched as everyone continued to party without them.

When the lights flickered though, everyone paused in the middle of what they were doing.

Nami got up from her comfortable cushion and walked over to the window. She pulled back the curtains to see what was going on outside. The main thing she saw was rain. It was raining very heavily. "Jeez… I hope no one is stuck out in this weather…" she commented.

"That's so compassionate of you, Nami-swan!" Sanji shouted as he tried concentrating on his game.

Luffy turned to Zoro. "I'm going to the room. I don't think I can drink anymore tonight." He grinned.

"I'll go with you. If I drink anymore, Nami will probably make me take her to refill her pantry."

"Shishishi! Let's go then."

Without drawing attention, the two of them got up and headed on back into the room for the night.

* * *

Looking down at his baby Den Den Mushi, Law sighed.

It was out of character for him to have forgotten his keys to his dorm. That wouldn't have been so bad, but none of his roommates were answering their transponders so he was stuck outside. If the walls weren't infused with Sea-Prism Stone, he could have just used his Room ability to shift the door around so he could get inside. Unfortunately, Devil Fruit use was something the university did its best to control. It was efficient, using the Sea-Prism Stone infused walls, but still a nuisance in the long run.

The wind picked up, causing the rain to angle where it was coming into the open hallway. Immediately, he turned against it and folded his arms to try keeping himself warm.

The worst part about this rain was that it was cold. The wind only made it worse. He could see goosebumps forming on his slender arms and he didn't like it.

"Why didn't these people build hallways that would keep the weather out…?!" he said, then shivered.

With his shirt and shorts sticking to his body, he figured the best thing to do would be to walk back across campus to Mugiwara's room since there was nowhere else he could go to escape the rain.

"I'd hate to impose on him…" he started.

But deep down, he knew Luffy wouldn't turn him away. In fact, he'd probably give him his bed... if not ask him to fuck him. He made it pretty obvious that's what he wanted, anyway.

After walking down the hall and getting down the flights of stairs, he reached the first floor and remembered there was a lobby for the residential life.

Quickly, he fast-walked down the hall and reached the double doors to it. When he tried to pull them, however, he found that they were locked. The windows had been covered with something that he figured would keep them from being broken during the storm.

"Great…" he said.

Since that was a no go, he continued on his way, exiting the building and walking through the rain in the direction of Luffy's hall.

It was at least a ten minute walk considering the fact that it was on the other side of campus, not to mention there were heavy winds blowing against him.

He had to stop and get down on his hands and knees for one particularly powerful gust of wind and rain. It nearly swept him off his feet it was so strong.

When he looked up, he saw two headlights coming his way.

"-gi-chaaaaaaaaan!" he heard someone call. It sounded like those annoying security guards that followed that glasses wearing girl around.

"Shit…" he cursed under his breath.

It  _was_  that security girl.

She was coming his way on one of the golf kart mobiles that the security guards on campus used.

"What are you, crazy?!" Tashigi shouted as she approached him.

Wearing a pink parka, she jumped out of the vehicle as soon as she got close and grabbed him by the arm.

"Could you be any more forceful?" Law asked.

"What are you doing out in this weather?!" she shouted over the wind.

"… I got locked out of my room."

"What?! Speak up! I can't hear you over this wind!"

"I GOT LOCKED OUT OF MY ROOM AND NO ONE IS THERE TO LET ME IN!"

"Oh! Well! I… I don't know what to do in this situation! Let's go to the library where we've set up our security operations and I'll see if you can stay there for the night!"

"Fine…"

"What?!"

"I SAID FINE!"

* * *

"Zoro, you don't have to sleep on the floor, you know." Luffy said.

Lying on his stomach on top of the white, fluffy comforter, he stared down at Zoro disapprovingly.

"There's nothing wrong with sleeping on the floor."

"I don't know what the problem is. We've slept together before. What's the big deal now?"

"I… don't know…"

"Come on. There' plenty of room for you up here." The boy said, patting the bed encouragingly.

"Luffy-"

"Zoro, a nakama doesn't let his nakama suffer if he can do something about it. Now come on."

"Fine." Zoro responded.

Before he got in the bed, Luffy held up his hand signaling for him to stop.

"What?"

"Turn off the light. We'll never sleep with it on."

After flipping the light switch, Zoro climbed into the bed with Luffy and pulled his shirt off, then tossed it to the floor.

The two of them laid in silence, listening to the rain beating against the window and the roof. In the pitch blackness, Luffy, as best he could, stretched his arm over to the curtain and pulled it back so he could see the storm. He found himself out of breath when his arm returned to normal. It was the first time he'd tried really pushing his ability this much inside the buildings of this university.

Once he'd regained his breath, he felt more relaxed. For a while, he laid there, just watching the clouds in the sky and smiling at the moon when it peered through them.

A hand on his arm caused him to jump.

"What the-"

"Luffy… I thought the walls kept you from stretching." Zoro said, pulling at his rubber skin.

"They don't stop me from stretching. They just make it harder to. The stone isn't actually touching me, so I can still use my ability, but it makes me exhausted when I do."

"Oh… so if you were touching the walls…"

"I probably wouldn't be able to stretch."

"…"

"…"

"So… what is it you like about that Law guy?"

"What kind of question is that out of the blue?!" Luffy asked, trying to look Zoro in the eyes. He couldn't really see him though, because the room was so dark. All he could see was a dark figure lying next to him. But surprisingly, it wasn't frightening, because it was Zoro.

"I'm just curious… It's interesting to me."

"… Well… I guess I like how cool he is. He's nice, and good looking, and he's really smart, too. I know I'm not the brightest, so having someone like him around really is good for me."

"Who told you something like that?"

"It's just something I've realized. It doesn't take a genius to know stupid, shishi."

"Luffy… brains aren't everything. One thing you should remember is there are all kinds of people in this world.  _Nobody_  is good at everything. And people who are smart have their flaws, too. Besides… I like you the way you are."

"… Thanks, Zoro. I like you the way you are, too."

Sitting up on his elbow, Zoro got closer to Luffy, stopping when his nose touched the other boy's. This moment felt so right. It felt…  _right_ … to kiss him. So he did.

As nervous as he was, he did not shy away when Luffy reached up and held his neck.

Again, this kiss was innocent. Innocent until Luffy stuck his tongue out and ran it into Zoro's lips.

Pulling away, the marimo blushed. "I'm… I'm sorry, Luffy." He said, and then made to get off the bed.

"Don't go, Zoro." Luffy said, sitting up too.

"No… I can't keep doing this. We keep getting into these situations, and they make me confused. I don't like being confused."

"Confused?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, but I feel… really good right now. But I shouldn't." Zoro said, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding his head in his hand.

"Zoro…"

"… I shouldn't feel this way… I know I shouldn't… But… I think… I'm starting to be attracted to you, Luffy."

* * *

"Sit there for a while. I'm going to call and see what I should do about you." Tashigi said.

Law took a seat in one of the chairs in the lobby of the library and folded his arms. He was still wet and trying to get warm. It didn't help that the air conditioning was on and he was still wet.

After a few minutes of sitting alone in silence, he heard Tashigi up on the second floor on a Den Den Mushi. It sounded like she was talking to a superior. He could already guess who it was, too.

"No, no! Please! Don't inconvenience yourself! I can handle this!" he heard her say. "I was just about to go home. I just had to do a final sweep of the campus. Lucky I did, or the student would have probably been swept away… No… Please… Alright, if you insist… We'll be here in the library."

When he heard the Den Den Mushi being hung up, Law sat back and pretended like he wasn't listening.

Putting the transponder back into her parka, Tashigi came down the stairs and walked over to Law. "Captain Smoker is on his way. I don't know what to do… Because you're the only student who is unsheltered for the night. So… I guess either he or I will end up staying the night with you. I already sent the other guards home, so you'll have to deal with one of us." She said.

"… Can't I just go back to my hall? Or go to a friend's room?"

"That last option seems plausible, but I'd hate to inconvenience anyone during such a serious time as this. Anyway, as part of the security of this establishment, it's my duty to see that you are properly taken care of."

"Why don't I stay in your dorm with you, then?"

"Absolutely out of the question! If we cannot find a place for you, I will stay here with you until the storm is over." Tashigi said.

"That's a nice gesture, but a little unnecessary." Smoker said as he entered the library, causing Tashigi to jump in surprise.

"C-Captain!" she saluted. "You're here much earlier than I expected!"

"There's much about me you still don't know, Tashigi." The man grinned, and then closed his umbrella.

He looked at Law and saw how wet he was. His shirt was clinging to him, and it was obvious how cold he was because his nipples were so noticeably hard.

"… What do you mean by unnecessary?" Tashigi asked.

"Well, as your superior, I won't inconvenience you with a problem I should be handling. I'm owning up to this, as inconvenient as it is for me to, and in so doing, I'm relieving you of this matter."

"But-"

"Go on, Tashigi. Get back to your dorm and get some sleep. Stop overexerting yourself. It won't get you anywhere, and you'll be of no use to the force if you're tired because you slept here."

"… Alright. But what are you going to do with this student?"

After briefly looking at Law again, who looked away irritatedly, Smoker turned to Tashigi. "He's coming with me."


	12. Warm Baths, Warm Beds, Warm Night

Walking together under the large umbrella that Smoker had brought with him, both he and Law made their way off the college campus.

"Where are we going?" Law asked, seeing the city lights on the other side of the peninsula through the rain. They were illuminated on the horizon thanks to the dark storm clouds behind the buildings they were coming from.

"Don't worry about that. Just know you'll be warm for the night."

"Hm… I don't get why you guys couldn't just get the custodian's keys to let me in… Or… isn't there some kind of master key?"

Without looking at the shorter man, Smoker responded. "The custodians don't have keys to your dorms. Spares are kept in the housing office, but that's closed along with the rest of the school. And no, there is no master key. That's just a silly myth." He said, with smoke flowing from his mouth due to the cigars he was smoking.

"Hmph…"

With nothing else to complain about, Law decided to keep quiet for a while. Taking a glance up at Smoker, he noticed how bright the butts of his cigars were as he inhaled from them.

Feeling the other's eyes on him, Smoker turned and looked down at the boy. "What?"

"… Smoking is bad for you."

"I'm a Logia capable of  _turning_   _into_  smoke. I think I'll be okay." It was after he said that that Smoker noticed how wet Law was. "Uh, here, take this." he said, handing his umbrella to him.

"Why?"

"Just do it." The smoke-man responded, taking the boy's hand and forcing the umbrella into it.

"What are you-" Law was surprised when Smoker took off his heavy coat and put it over his shoulders.

"There. No reason for you to get sick on my watch."

"…"

After undoing the first two buttons of his collared shirt, Smoker reached over and took back the umbrella from Law.

Looking down at the warm coat draped over him, Law rolled his eyes. "… I didn't need your pity…" he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"… Nothing. Let's get to wherever it is we're going."

"Don't rush me, kid."

* * *

"Attracted to me! ME?!" Luffy exclaimed.

The amount of disbelief in his voice as he said it was immeasurable, and his eyebrows were high on his forehead.

Zoro picked his head up from off of his hand and turned to the boy. "I… I think so… I mean… I'm feeling  _something_ … uh, you know… downstairs…" he said with a blush that was visible in the moonlight he was seated under.

Luffy, now over his initial surprise, moved closer to the man and smiled at him. "Zoro, it'll be okay." Lifting his hands, he rested them on Zoro's shoulders and got even closer to him.

"Luffy-"

"I want to repay you for the kiss you gave me in front of Ghost Girl."

"But…"

"I won't do anything else, I promise."

Seeing the sincerity in Luffy's eyes, Zoro nodded. "Okay." He said.

With that, Luffy slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against Zoro's. Not wanting to startle or scare the confused marimo away, he stayed in place like that for longer than he thought he could. Zoro not retaliating or pulling away was a sign that this was a good pace for him.  _"Maybe it was for the best that he stole my first kiss."_  He thought, smiling inwardly.

After what felt like an eternity, which still didn't seem like enough time to enjoy their kiss, he pulled away. And the heat he felt at his cheeks made him realize he was just as interested in his green-haired friend as he was in Law.

When he looked down, his cheeks felt like they were on fire at what he saw. "Zoro…! You have-"

"I know…" said man interrupted, embarrassment clear from his flushed expression.

He was  _very_  excited right now, even much more than before. His erection standing underneath his pajama bottoms proved that.

Knowing if he pushed too far he could make this a bad experience for Zoro, Luffy backed off a bit.

"Zoro, you should take the time to think this over. I can't, and I won't, force you to do this if it makes you uncomfortable or confused. I care about you too much for that."

"Luffy."

"Hm?"

"I want to… go a little further. With you."

"Really?" the gum-boy asked with wide eyes.

"Well… there are no other guys I get... aroused about… It's just you. So I know I won't accomplish much on my own."

"Zoro…"

"Please, Luffy."

"Okay then. Tell me if you get uncomfortable."

"I will."

Moving closer to the larger man again, Luffy looked down at his erection and wondered just how far Zoro wanted to take this.

Pushing the thoughts out of his mind that were full of questions, Zoro got further back on the bed and pulled down his pajama pants, then tossed them on the floor.

"Oi! What are you doing!?" Luffy said.

"Take down your pants too."

"Huh? Are we… going to-"

"No, no. Nothing that serious. We're going to… masturbate together." Zoro said. His blush having yet to leave his cheeks.

"A-alright."

Taking down his own shorts and underwear, Luffy's penis was exposed in the faint light coming in through the window.

Zoro made eye contact with the boy. "We should sit beside each other while we do it."

"Okay."

The two of them moved up to the head of the bed and rested their backs against the headboard. Their shoulders gently touched, and Luffy looked over to Zoro. He realized this was the first time he'd ever seen him naked before.

"Don't stare at me, Luffy…"

"Sorry… it's just… you're really attractive, Zoro."

"Thanks…" said man responded, slightly embarrassed at hearing that compliment from another man.

"Do you wanna start?"

"Yeah."

Taking a deep breath, Zoro took hold of the length of his member and slowly started stroking it. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the fact that Luffy was sitting right up next to him. Knowing he was there would help him along in this process.

He continued to stroke until he felt a hand touch him.

Opening his eyes, he looked over at Luffy. "Why'd you stop?" he asked him.

"I want to make this moment a good one for you, Zoro." The boy responded. "Let me do it for you."

"What about you?"

"Um-"

"I'll do it for you, too."

Luffy's toothy grin that followed his statement made Zoro feel a churning in his lower gut, as it so often did. Nevertheless, he took Luffy's penis into his hand and stroked it.

"Luffy…"

"Zoro, um… can we… can we kiss?" said boy breathed out.

"That should be okay." The marimo responded.

As soon as those words escaped Zoro's lips, Luffy leaned over and pressed his lips against the man's. In his mind, he was smiling. Because being with Zoro like this was... well, it was thrilling! Unlike anything he'd felt before, even around Law.

More and more, they continued kissing each other, stroking each other, breathing heavily against each other, and enjoying their moment.

Luffy had to pull away. Closing his eyes, he felt himself getting close to reaching his climax. "Zoro… I'm… about to-"

"Me too…" Zoro interrupted.

Panting even louder than before, Luffy came first, shooting his warm load all over Zoro's hand.

Feeling like he was losing himself to ecstasy, he started stroking Zoro faster so he could join him in the afterglow of their moment.

Zoro closed his eyes and threw his head back, feeling nothing but pleasure from his release.

With the rain pounding against the window being the only noise echoing in the room, apart from the heavy breathing of the two, they sat together without a word. Luffy did not want to say anything. He figured it'd be best to let Zoro do the talking. After all, this was a big step for him.

"Luffy…" Zoro finally spoke, bringing his head back down to stare at the smaller boy.

"Yeah?"

"Eh… um… Well…"

"Say it, Zoro." The gum-boy smiled.

"We uh… we made quite a mess, didn't we?" Zoro said with a blush, looking down at his hand.

"Yeah but it's okay."

When he realized something, the marimo tensed up as though Davy Jones had grabbed hold of his soul. "It's not okay…!"

"Huh? You didn't like it?"

"That's not it! We're… we're in the girls' dorm!"

Just as much as Zoro had, Luffy tensed up as well. "Oh crap! I forgot!" he said with wide eyes.

"We can't let Nami find out about this! She'll torture us mercilessly!"

"Oi! Let's start cleaning up!"

"Right!"

Quickly, Zoro jumped off the bed, making sure there was nothing on the sheets first, he found his pants and put them on.

Luffy hopped off the bed as well, and picked up Zoro's large shirt, then pulled it over his head. It was just large enough that he could hide his shortsless bottom.

"What are you doing?!" Zoro shouted when he saw him do it.

"I'm going to take a bath! I don't even want her to smell it on me! Who knows what she'd do to us if she found out…" Luffy responded, and then turned the light on. Remembering what was on his hand, he lifted it to his mouth and smelled it.

"Hey! Don't play around with that!" Zoro said. He jumped when the Luffy went from sniffing his hand to licking it. "Luffy!"

When he was done, Luffy looked Zoro in the eye. "What?! I didn't want to walk around with that on my hand!"

"… That was… my…"

"I know! Tasted good!" the boy grinned.

"… That's so weird, doing things like that…"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Whatever… Just go take your bath! And don't take too long in the bathroom. I'm going to take one too."

"Really? Well…" Before he offered for them to bathe together, Luffy disposed the thought. Zoro had just gone far enough with him tonight. There was no need to keep pushing him, unless that's what he wanted. Plus, everyone was here. The chances of them getting caught walking out of the bathroom together were pretty high. "I won't be in there for too long. Trust me. I don't really bathe that much, anyway." He said.

Zoro nodded and opened the door. Hiding his hand behind his back, he walked out into the hallway. There, he bumped into Robin.

"Well hello." The raven-haired woman greeted with a smile.

"What are you doing up so late?" Zoro asked nervously.

"Nami started a movie after she took a bath. So everyone who didn't go to sleep is in the living room watching it. I was just going to my room to get some blankets."

"Oh…"

Inside the room, Luffy listened carefully to their conversation. From the sounds of it, Zoro was just trying to get to the bathroom. Probably to wash his hand off.  _"But he could have just done that with a shirt or something…?"_

Thinking about that for a second, he realized Zoro probably wasn't the type of guy to do something like that.

"Good night then, Robin." He heard Zoro say.

What was going on between was definitely was a process. He wasn't sure what would come of what they'd done together, but it was something he would figure out with his marimo in time.

* * *

Standing behind Smoker, who was fidgeting with the lock on the front door of his house, was Law. He was holding the umbrella so neither of them would get any more soaked than they already had on their way to this place.

A strong gust of wind had turned the umbrella inside out a little while ago, and almost blew him off the ground in the process. Luckily, Smoker had caught him and shielded him with his body until the wind passed. That's why he was now wet, too.

"Got it." Smoker said, pulling his key from the door knob and turning it.

Law gave him the umbrella and walked in ahead of him.

"Usually guests should wait for their host to go in first." The white-haired man said.

He entered his house, closed the door, and then closed the umbrella, leaning it against the wall.

"Yeah yeah. I'm not a typical house guest, and I didn't come here by choice. So the rules don't really apply to me, do they Smoker?" Law retorted monotonously.

"You sure are an ill-mannered little brat, aren't you?"

Not even bothering to offer a rebuttal, Law took off the large coat that had been put on his shoulders and put it on a chair at the table in the dining room.

Smoker, as soon as he saw it happen, hastily ran over and grabbed it up with a look of irritation plastered on his face. "It's wet! You don't just put something that's soaked onto wooden furniture!" he said angrily.

When Law folded his arms against his clingy t-shirt, he lost the scorn he'd directed at the boy. He realized he must have been cold.

Walking into the hallway, he switched his thermostat from the air conditioning setting to the heat setting, then went across the hall into the laundry room to put his wet coat on top of the washing machine. That was the best place for it right now. He could take it to the cleaners when the storm cleared up. Heck, it might even get dry with the heat on.

Coming out of the laundry room, he noticed his guest standing in the same place with his arms still folded.

"You… Well… I'd say take a seat somewhere, but you're soaking wet."

"Says the kettle. You're wetter than I am with those heavy clothes on." Law said.

"Look, kid-"

"I need a bath before I freeze to death."

"I just turned on the heat. You'll be fine."

"What, do you not have a bathroom?"

"… Come with me." Smoker replied, and then turned and headed to the end of the hallway.

Law kept his arms tightly crossed across his chest and followed. As he walked down the hallway, he took note of the bookshelves that were stocked with history books and fantasy novels, the large vases, the paintings on the wall, and the dim yet warm, homey feeling the lights gave.

He stopped when he reached the doorway which Smoker had gone through. It was the entrance to his bedroom.

"Why did you bring me to your bedroom?" When he asked the question, he was tossed a large t-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms from the dresser.

"You're going to sleep in here. The bathroom is just across the hall. Don't wet my bed. In  _any_  sense." Smoker said, and then pulled two cigars from the top drawer of his dresser.

Law could see that in the drawer, there were multiple cartons of cigars. "… You're a strange man, Smoker." He commented.

And on that note, he turned and walked across the hall to the bathroom. Flicking on the lights, which were fairly dim, he was surprised to find that it was much bigger than he expected it to be. The most notable thing was the large bath tub, which was practically a Jacuzzi.

Smoker's salary must have been a considerably large one, he concluded.

After putting the clothes he'd been given to wear down on the counter, he pushed the door to where it was almost completely shut, then opened the closet door. There, he found an abundance of thick towels. Taking one into his hand, he put it next to his clothes and then started undressing himself.

It was strange, getting naked at a stranger's house. One who suspected him of dealing with Doflamingo no less. But, this man had been nice enough to give him shelter in the storm when he had none. He figured he could maybe… be a little nicer to him, and less confrontational.

When he was out of his wet clothes, he walked over to the Jaccuzi, which he had decided to consider it, and turned on the water.

He looked around at the many different shampoos, body washes, soaps, and bubble baths along the wall as it filled up. Picking out a cherry blossom body wash, titled "Sakura's Fox," he stepped into the tub.

Once he'd sat down, something hit him in the rear, causing him to turn around. Behind him was a jet. Three more started blowing from the other corners of the tub, making the water bubble considerably.

"Hmm…" he smiled.

It was nice being warm like this, considering he'd been cold and wet for the past forty-five minutes at least.

It was also relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, he slowly slid down into the water, submerging himself in it completely.

Childishly, he blew bubbles and turned around to let the jet blow into his mouth.

After about a minute, the need for oxygen caused him to come up out of the water. He jumped after he wiped his eyes, then saw Smoker standing and urinating at the toilet, completely nude. "Smoker!?" he exclaimed.

"Hey, eyes over there, kid."

"Don't 'eyes over there' me! What the hell are you doing?!"

"What a silly thing to ask. You've never been to a bathhouse before, have you?"

"Of course I have, but that doesn't- Oh no… No, no!" Law said, realizing what Smoker meant. "We are  _not_  bathing together!"

"Calm down." The man said, and then started walking over to the tub.

Law turned away and blushed as he did, trying to avoid seeing him naked.

"Oh, you're using the cherry blossom body wash! That one's expensive, you know?"

"So what…" the raven-haired boy muttered, sinking down so only his nose and eyes were above the water.

When Smoker got in the tub, he made sure to give Law his space. "You don't have to have the jets on if you don't want to." He said.

Bringing his lips above the water, Law scowled at the lager man. "What are you doing, old man? Why are you bathing with me?"

"Old man?! I'm only thirty-six!"

"Why are you bathing with me?" Law asked again.

"Well, I was wet earlier, too. Plus, this thing runs a lot of electricity and water. I don't like using it more than I have to. We're both men, it's not like you've got something I've never seen before. So stop being all standoffish and nervous."

"That's all you can say? That's your only excuse?"

"I also wanted some time to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About your employment under Donquixote Doflamingo."

"There's nothing to say about him because I don't work for him." Law said seriously.

"I don't believe that. You're a very shady character, after all."

"Then why did you bring me here? Have me right under your nose in your home?"

"Because I genuinely cared about your condition, and I also didn't want to leave you alone with Tashigi. But I also was following the saying 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'."

"So we're enemies, huh?"

"That's just an accurate phrase for this situation. Right now, all you are is a suspect." Smoker said, then moved across the tub in front of the smaller man. Taking his thick-haired chin into his hand, he looked him in the eyes. "If you have a confession, you'd better do it now. Because when I catch you in the act of dirty dealings, I'm going to put you away."

Law, feeling his heart beating a mile per second, looked away. "You're crazy…" he mumbled.

"It's not too late. I can save you if you admit your crimes."

Pulling his chin out of Smoker's grasp, Law turned and folded his arms. "Like I said, you're crazy, smoke breath."

"Smoke breath? Heh, that's a new one. You're quite witty, aren't you?"

"Urusai…"

"Why do you have such an abrasive personality? It doesn't seem to fit at all with your boyfriend's."

With knitted eyebrows, accompanied by a look of confusion on his face, Law turned and looked back up at Smoker. "What the hell are you talking about?! I don't have a boyfriend!"

"Really? That rubber kid isn't your-"

"No! He's not! I'm not interested in men…" the tattooed man said, closing his eyes. Honestly, why did people assume they were together?

He opened his eyes again when he felt a cold and wet liquid on top of his head. Smoker was grinning down at him and holding a shampoo bottle in his hand.

"Lighten up, kid. You seem very offended that I thought that."

"That's because everyone- no, it's none of your business."

Putting his hands on top of Law's head, Smoker started scrubbing the shampoo in his hair. He didn't know why he was doing it, he just knew this kid needed to smile. Maybe he wasn't so bad under his rough and tough exterior.

"I want you to smile. All I've ever seen you do is frown and glower. Do you even know how to smile?"

"Even if I did," Law began, allowing Smoker to massage his scalp with shampoo, "It'd only be a twisted up frown in disguise."

"Why's that?"

"Because I don't like you, smoke breath."

"I don't believe that. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here with me now."

"I'm only here because you and your goons wouldn't let me go spend the night in Mugiwara's room!"

"Would that make you happy? Being with him and his three other roommates?" Smoker asked, picking up a handful of water and pouring it over the boy's head.

Spitting out the water that had gone into his mouth, and wiping his eyes so they wouldn't sting when he opened them, Law responded uncertainly. "… I don't know. Probably not."

"Be grateful for being here, where you won't be an inconvenience with a nasty attitude. At least with me, you're just a nasty attitude."

"… I  _am_  grateful."

"What?"

"I said I'm grateful. It… it was nice of you to bring me here... out of the storm."

"That's more like it."

Wrapping his hand around Smoker's muscular arm as much as he could, Law pulled him closer. "Give me one of your cigars." He whispered.

"Why? Weren't you the one who said smoking was bad?" the smoke-man asked, blowing smoke in the boy's face purposely.

"I don't smoke very often, so it's okay for me to have one every once in a while." Law replied, then slowly pulled one of Smoker's cigars from his mouth and put it into his own.

Smoker looked down at the other as he took long drags from his cigar. After a while, he stopped him by grabbing his small arm. "That's enough."

"Yeah." Law responded, handing the man his cigar back. "I'm done bathing… or soaking."

"Not gonna use the body wash? It's a nice one."

"No, I'm about to go to sleep. Use it yourself." Getting up out of the tub while holding his hand over his privates, Law walked over and picked up the towel he'd gotten from the closet, then started drying off. As he put his clothes on, he blushed when he looked over his shoulder to see Smoker watching him. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Don't wet my bed." The man responded.

"You wish." He said, and then left the bathroom.

…

Lying comfortably under Smoker's sheets, Law kept his eyes open. He was tired, but he also wondered just where his smoky host would be sleeping tonight.

Assuming it was on the couch, he got out from under the sheets and headed to the living room.

Reaching the end of the hallway, he stopped when he saw Smoker sitting on the couch with a book in his hand.

"You're still awake?"

"Yes."

"What do you want?"

"Where… are you going to sleep tonight?" the younger man asked.

"Here on the couch. I've slept in my office many nights before, so this is nothing."

Shocked that someone was willing to sacrifice their own comfort for his sake, Law looked to the floor for a second, then back up to Smoker. "You should sleep in your own bed."

"That's where you're sleeping-"

"Then sleep in it with me. There's more than enough room for two people."

"The couch is-"

"You're the one who went on about me not inconveniencing anyone, yet here you are inconveniencing yourself. I'm not going to be able to sleep knowing someone is uncomfortable because of me."

"That's not-"

Walking over to the couch, Law took the book from Smoker's hand and then headed back to the bedroom. "If you want this back, you'll have to come and get it." He said.

"… You are one complicated kid." He heard the other man say.

Stopping when he got back into the bedroom, Law looked down at the book, trying to read from it. Before he could though, a hand came over his shoulder and pulled it out of his grasp. He turned and saw Smoker standing right up behind him. "You came."

"I was in the middle of reading this. You're a rude guy, you know?"

"Whatever." Law said. Getting up onto the bed again, he pulled the sheets back and got under them again.

Smoker was next to do so, making sure to keep his distance from his guest.

"Good night, smoke breath." Law muttered after a while, and then turned to face the wall.

"Night, rude brat." Smoker said, and then continued reading his book.

* * *

Walking into the room while drying his soft head of short, green hair, the shirtless Zoro smiled at Luffy, who was nestled under the large blankets on the bed.

"Luffy, are you awake?" he asked.

Said boy sat up on his elbow and yawned before speaking. "I was waiting for you to come back."

"You didn't have to."

"It's okay. I wanted to." Luffy smiled. He was glad Zoro hadn't taken too long, because he wasn't far from dreamland.

Flicking off the lights and closing the door, Zoro headed over to the bed and then climbed under the sheets with his nakama, who had laid back down on one of the fluffy pillows.

The rain was still pounding against the window, which created a nice mood for going to sleep in. The occasional striking thunder was an added bonus.

But even with that, he still felt… strange.

"Luffy?"

"Mm?" the gum-boy moaned.

"Come over here and sleep next to me." He said.

Sitting up again, Luffy opened his eyes completely. "Zoro…"

"I… I've grown to like sleeping like that with you."

With a tired smile, Luffy crawled over to the marimo and buried his nose in the man's scarred chest. "Zoro, we should decide where to go from here."

"We can talk about it in the morning when we're wide awake. Fair enough?" Zoro responded, wrapping his arms around Luffy's smaller frame.

"Yup!"

"Good night, Luffy."

"Night night, Zoro." The boy said, and then closed his eyes.

In the midst of the violent storm, he knew nothing could make him feel more comfortable than being wrapped in Zoro's warm embrace.


	13. Our Secret and a Yohohoho on the Wind

Waking up to Nami's cute face was something Sanji welcomed with great delight. Leaning forward, he closed his eyes and puckered up his lips, grabbing her by the chin to bring her closer.

"Huh…?" Feeling a warm, soft, and tickling feeling on his foot, Usopp opened his eyes and looked down to the foot of the bed. His eyes went wide when he saw Sanji kissing his foot affectionately. "Oi, Sanji! What are you doing?!" he shouted, trying to pull his foot out of the man's grasp.

"Don't be afraid, Nami-san. I'll be gentle-"

"Sanji!" Usopp called again.

Sanji opened his eyes slowly, and the one uncovered by hair shot open when he saw that he was holding on to a foot instead of Nami.

Releasing the foot, he sat up and stared at Usopp for a second, then looked around the room. "When did we come into Nami-san's room?" he asked.

"When the movie was over." Usopp answered, holding his foot soothingly.

"Um… sorry about that."

"You  _should_  apologize to Nami. I can't imagine what you'd do to her considering the death grip you had on my foot!"

"When your love is strong, you don't want to let go." Sanji grinned, tossing back the sheets and getting off the bed.

"Hey, I know we bunked head-to-toe last night… what do you think Zoro and Luffy did?"

Sanji ran his fingers through his hair and shrugged. "Don't know. But if I know that marimo, he probably made Luffy sleep on the floor."

"… I hope not. Maybe they slept like we did." Usopp said, wanting to think the best of Zoro.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Chances are we might get to go back to our room tonight, anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"Nami-san took a look outside last night and said the storm was moving quicker than it was expected to."

"Sounds good then."

"Yeah. Hey, I'm gonna step outside and smoke for a bit. I'll start breakfast when I come back inside."

Usopp moved over to the edge of the bed and put his feet on the floor. "All right." He said. "I'm gonna go watch some TV."

Sanji went over to the door and opened it. After stepping out of Nami's room, he made to go check on Luffy and the marimo, but decided against it. Their door was still closed, which meant they were probably still asleep.

Hearing rain pouring outside as he entered the living room, he knew he wouldn't be able to smoke for long.

* * *

After lighting two of his cigars, Smoker got out of bed and decided he would make some breakfast.

He headed to the door, but stopped to look back at the sleeping boy who was bundled up under his covers for a second. The only thing he could really see was his spiky black hair sticking out from the sheets, making him smirk.

After shaking of his head, he left the room and went on into the kitchen.

…

Opening his eyes slowly, Law found that he was not in his room like he hoped he would be. When he saw that he was still in Smoker's bed and clothes, he sighed.

"And here I was hoping it was a dream…" he mumbled.

Though, he was kind of glad it hadn't been one. No reason could be rational enough for him to have dreamt about Smoker  _bathing_  with him. Bringing his hand up to his forehead, he sighed. He and Smoker were getting a little too involved, and he didn't really like it.

A heavy scent found its way to his nose and he sat up. It was the smell of someone making actual breakfast.

Throwing the sheets back on the bed, Law got out of bed and left the room.

"So you're awake, huh?" Smoker asked when he saw the younger man emerge from the hallway.

Law did not respond. Instead, he simply walked over to the bar and took a seat, then started watching the smoke-man cook with a blank expression on his face.

"Did you sleep well?" Smoker continued.

"I've slept in better conditions…"

"…You sure can be hard to please."

"And that's why I'm single. Heh… There's no woman out there who can satisfy me."

Turning to his stove and dismissing Law's comment, Smoker picked up the pan that was frying eggs on the back burner and checked to see if they were ready."The storm won't pass until later tonight, you know." He said, trying to make small talk.

"So I heard."

"Let me ask you this, then." The smoke-man said, coming over to the bar and moving the eggs from the pan onto a plate with his spatula.

"What?"

"Do you want to try going back to campus and maybe try getting into the housing office to get your key today, or do you want to stay here and ride out the rest of the storm with me?"

Law sat still while staring up at the smoke-man for a moment, then leaned forward on the bar and thought his question over.

It would be nice to get back to his room where he was more comfortable, but there was no guarantee they would be able to get into the housing office to find a spare key. Plus, his roommates probably left campus for the storm, so going wouldn't be the most exciting thing for him to do.

Looking up at Smoker, he grinned when he realized he could have another day to pull at the man's strings.

Smoker smiled innocently. "What's with that look all of a sudden?"

"I'm going to stay here and ride out the rest of the storm with you."

* * *

As the rain pounded against the window, a certain marimo found himself in a slightly odd place with a pair of arms wrapped around him.

Lying under the covers as still as possible, Zoro blushed when Luffy started rubbing his nose against his chest.

"Luffy, are you awake?" he asked.

"Mhmm."

"I smell food… Uh… I think Eyebrow is cooking."

Luffy unwrapped his arms from around Zoro and moved away from him a bit. Sitting up, he yawned widely and then stretched his limbs.

Zoro sat up as well and wondered just how he would go about talking to Luffy about what they had done last night. When he heard Luffy start sniffing the air, he sighed.

"Oi, Luffy."

"Yeah?"

"I think we should talk about what we did last night."

The gum-boy's eyes went wide and a red tint found its way to his cheeks. "Oh! Right! You said we should talk when we woke up."

"Yeah… I thought that would be best." Zoro intentionally left out the part about him wanting to have time to think things over.

Bringing the bottoms of his feet together and holding them with his hands, Luffy looked down and tried expressing his feelings. "…Zoro… I… I like you-"

"Luffy, I don't want to hurt your feelings, and I don't want to sound mean either, but I don't think dating you is something I want to do."

Luffy looked up at Zoro with a disheartened expression on his face. Though, when Zoro looked back at him, he smiled to hide his disappointment. "It's okay, Zoro. I didn't really think you'd want to anyway."

"That's right… Even though I did kind of like what we did, I… I still like girls. And I also didn't really want to date anyone after Perona and I broke up. Dating is too much for me to handle, and I can't afford to let my grades slip because of that. I'm hanging on to my financial aid by a thread as it is."

"It's okay, really. I understand. Besides, there's always a chance I could be with Traffy. I am glad I got to help you figure out where you stand… well… I mean, figure out that you're not completely shut off from the idea of being with a guy…"

Zoro brought his hands together and started twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Yeah… About that… Could you keep that a secret from the others? It's not something I'm entirely sure about, so it'd be best if we just kept it between us."

Luffy genuinely smiled and leaned over to take one of Zoro's hands into his own. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. It's our secret."

"Thank you, Luffy."

"Hey, Zoro?"

"Huh?"

"Can we… still be friends? You're a great nakama, so I'd hate to lose you or have things be awkward between us because of something like this."

"Yeah, we can."

"Shishishi! Good!"

"We should probably go eat. If Eyebrow is cooking, I'm pretty sure the others are awake or will be soon."

"Right!" Luffy said with a big grin. He tossed the sheets back and crawled to the end of the bed, before hopping off of it.

As he watched him pull on a pair of pants then leave the room, Zoro couldn't help but recall a statement Luffy made earlier. The one about him thinking there was a chance of him getting with that Law guy.

It irritated him more than he thought it would, especially that smile Luffy gave as he said it.

* * *

"Luffy! Did you sleep well last night?" Usopp asked when he saw the boy come into the kitchen.

"Mhm! I was really comfortable!"

Sanji poured some pancake mix into the frying pan before speaking. "How did you and that marimo sleep? Did he make you sleep on the floor?" he asked.

Luffy's eyes turned to the right, followed by his lips. "We slept fine. Zoro said he would sleep on the floor and let me have the bed."

Luckily for him, as he answered, Chopper and Vivi came into the kitchen, distracting Usopp from catching the obviousness of his lie from his facial expression.

"Morning everyone!" Vivi said, and took a seat at the table.

"Good morning, sweet Vivi." Sanji said.

"I'm still kind of tired." Chopper commented as he climbed up into a chair.

Nami was next to come out from the hallway. Dressed in a very large t-shirt that covered down to her thighs, she seemed to be looking for something.

"Good morning, Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji exclaimed. "You look so adorable my dear!"

"Good morning. Is Robin in here?" the orange-haired girl asked.

"Yeah, she's on the couch talking to Franky." Usopp said.

"Oh! I heard her get up earlier, but I wasn't sure where she went."

"Sorry to worry you, Nami." Robin said from the living room.

"Oh, it's nothing." the girl responded, taking a seat at the table next to Usopp. Looking at Luffy for a second, she wondered how things had gone with him and Zoro last night. They shared a room, but it seemed likely from what she knew about the marimo that  _one_  of them slept on the floor.

"Nami-san, do you think the storm's gonna clear up by tonight?" Sanji asked as he left the stove and came to take a seat beside her.

"It should. But the winds are only going to get stronger as we reach the middle of the day. I hope none of the trees around here fall onto any of the buildings."

"As always, you're so considerate, sweetness." Sanji smiled, pulling the girl close.

Swiftly slapping Sanji's hand off her arm, Nami leaned forward on the table. "Luffy, did you sleep well last night?" she asked.

Said boy smiled. "Yeah, I was pretty comfortable." It was a good thing she didn't ask him anything that would cause him to lie, otherwise, he'd have been found out in a second.

"Where's Zoro?" the girl continued.

"Right here."

Everyone in the kitchen looked at Zoro as he came in from the hallway. It was enough attention to make him blush.

"Morning, Zoro-kun!" Usopp greeted.

"Heya."

Luffy got up from the table and smiled, walking past Zoro to get a plate from the counter. "Oi, Sanji!"

"Huh?" the blonde responded.

"Did you make a lot of sausage links?"

"Luffy really likes meat." Nami teased to the others sitting at the table.

Zoro shook his head at the girl's comment, then walked over to the counter beside Luffy. Picking up his own plate, he started serving himself food.

"There's more than enough for everyone, even Luffy. But that doesn't mean you should pig out." Sanji said, aiming his last statement at the gum-boy specifically.

"I know!" Luffy responded as he put a few pancakes onto his plate.

After getting everything he wanted, Zoro turned and noticed the table was full. When Luffy walked past him and went into the living room, he decided he should follow.

"Good morning you two." Robin smiled at them as they took seats side by side at the coffee table.

"Morning Robin!"

"Good morning." Zoro said quietly, trying not to blush as he recalled what she almost saw on his hand last night.

Franky grinned and lifted his large hand, only to have a smaller one come out and wave at the two.

"You're so cool!" Luffy exclaimed with a starry-eyed expression.

As he started eating, he insisted on talking with Franky about how he came to be a cyborg, only having recently been convinced he wasn't a robot.

The more they talked, the more interested the others got in their conversation. It got to the point where everyone had fixed a plate of food and came into the living room, squishing themselves around the coffee table and forcing Zoro and Luffy closer.

With all the talking that went on, Zoro remained quiet. He was a bit nervous about being so close to Luffy out in public. And his cheeks grew red when he felt an erection coming on.

"You guys wanna have some fun?" Franky asked.

"Yeah!" Chopper and Usopp said excitedly.

"What do you have planned?" Robin inquired.

"I'm gonna go outside."

"What?!" Nami asked.

"Well, it's not raining right now. It's only windy." Franky said.

"I wanna go!" Usopp said, getting up off the floor and taking his empty plate into the kitchen where he put it in the sink.

"Me too!" Chopper added.

"Guys! It's dangerous!" Nami said.

"Is it?" Sanji asked.

"Sanji-kun?"

"We have Luffy who can stretch his limbs, Robin who can generate multiple arms, and Franky who is like a tank. I think we'll be alright if we go outside. No one's gonna blow away."

Nami puffed out her cheeks, and Vivi patted her on the back consolingly.

"It'll be okay, Nami." Robin smiled.

"Fine. I'm sure I couldn't convince you all not to go if I tried." The orange-haired girl said.

"Let's go!" Luffy exclaimed, getting up and following Usopp and Chopper into the hallway.

Once everyone had gotten up to go get ready to play outside, Zoro decided to get up as well, glad for the fact that he was the last one to do so because of his problem downstairs.

Usopp, Chopper, Luffy, and Vivi all came from the back, causing him to hurry over to the sink with wide eyes and a blush on his cheeks.

"Zoro! Are you gonna join us?" Chopper asked.

"Y-yeah! I'm just going to… clean the dishes." The marimo answered nervously.

"Okay!" The reindeer smiled.

He and the others headed over to the door and opened it, then saw Robin, Sanji, and Franky waiting for them in the open hallway.

"The wind's pretty strong!" Sanji said, displaying that fact with his lighter that wouldn't even stay lit.

"Let's go downstairs!" Usopp declared, and then headed down the hall towards the stairs. Robin and Franky followed after him when they realized he had no way of keeping himself from blowing away if a strong enough wind came.

"Where's Nami-san?!" Sanji asked Vivi.

"She was still getting ready!" the sky blue-haired girl responded.

Luffy turned and looked back into the dorm for a moment.

"Luffy? Are you coming?" Chopper asked from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit! You can go on ahead!" the boy said over the wind.

Just as he entered the dorm again, Nami came out with a raincoat and rain boots on.

"Luffy?"

"Hey Nami. I'm gonna help Zoro wash the dishes."

"Oh, okay then. Have fun." The girl said, and then left her dorm. "Wait for me, Chopper!" her voice echoed in the hall.

The door shut and everything was silent again.

Zoro turned when Luffy came over to him. "You don't have to help me, you know."

"I know. But I want to. I like spending time with you." Luffy said, and then smiled.

"Heh."

After getting a dish towel, Luffy put his hands in the dish water with it and felt around for something to wash. His hand brushed against Zoro's and he apologized.

"You don't need to be sorry, Luffy. But… I think it'd be best if one of us washed and the other dried the dishes. Both of us washing will only make it harder."

"Zoro."

"Hm?"

"I saw your boner earlier. Shishi!"

The marimo blushed deeply. "Shit… Did anyone else see it?"

"No, you got to the sink right as I was coming out of the hallway, so I'm pretty sure the others didn't see it."

"Good."

"I can't believe you have so much trouble with that kind of thing."

"What do you mean by that?" Zoro asked, embarrassed and still blushing.

"Well, you seem like the kind of guy who has a lot of control over yourself. So you getting boners all the time is a bit surprising. It's cute, Zoro!" Luffy said, and then bumped shoulders with the taller man affectionately.

"So you think you have more control over that kind of thing than I do?"

"Oh no, I'm worse at it than you are." The gum-boy admitted.

"Then-"

"But I wear boxer briefs, so they're not as noticeable. You wear boxers, and you also wear pants that aren't good about hiding it."

"…"

"Maybe you should try boxer briefs. They'll make it so you're not sticking straight out, at least."

"I don't like boxer briefs."

"Well you don't like boners, either."

"…I just can't seem to win when you're around, can I?" Zoro asked. It earned him a laugh from the smaller boy.

"Let's hurry so we can go outside with the others." Luffy said.

"Right."

* * *

Nami, seated against the outside wall of the dorm, watched as most everyone played carelessly in the wind. Even Robin was enjoying herself as she used her Devil Fruit powers to make a large swing of arms between two trees that blew her back and forth.

"Nami-san! Come on over! We're having a lot of fun!" Sanji called, and then was lifted from the ground for a second by a strong gust of wind.

Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, the girl reluctantly got up and walked over to where the others were.

"Are Zoro-kun and Luffy still not finished washing dishes?" Usopp asked. "They're missing all the fun!"

"Let them have some time together." Robin said with a smile.

"Hey, the wind's slowing down!" Chopper said, and then changed into his walking form.

"That's odd." Nami commented as she looked up to the sky. "It isn't even one o'clock yet. This isn't supposed to be happening…"

"Hey, there's Luffy and Zoro!" Vivi said, waving up to them as they walked down the hallway.

"…Whoa!" Usopp exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at him, and he started shivering.

"What's wrong, Usopp?" Sanji asked.

"Are you sick?" Chopper added, before walking over to him.

"N-no… I-I hear something…"

"There's nothing to hear." Nami said. "Well… nothing but the wind, I guess."

"I promise you I hear something! It sounds like… like moaning!" Usopp said, and then started walking around like a zombie to emphasize his point.

"I'm telling you, you must be imagining things-" Nami stopped talking when she heard something sound like it was moaning as well.

Chopper jumped when he heard it, and ran over to Usopp's side. "Wh-what is that?!"

"Oh my, it could be a ghost." Robin smiled excitedly.

"You're too excited by that thought." Franky commented.

It wasn't long before everyone started hearing the moans echoing, and started looking around to figure out where they were coming from.

As they exited the building, Luffy and Zoro both heard the moaning too and looked around.

"What is that?" Zoro asked.

"It sounds like singing!" Luffy said with a big grin.

"Singing?" Sanji echoed.

"Yeah! Don't you guys hear it?!"

Listening more closely, Zoro realized it did sound like singing.

After a few minutes, the singing stopped.

Usopp pulled out a Rosario and hurried over to the building. "I've had enough! I'm going back inside to wait out the rest of the storm!" he said.

"Wait for me!" Chopper said, and then followed after him.

Vivi and Nami looked at each other, before nodding and doing just as Chopper had done.

"Wait for me ladies!" Sanji called. He turned back when he realized Robin had not yet decided to leave. "Robin-chan!?"

Robin undid her spider net of hands that she'd been using as a swing between two trees and turned to Franky. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"Yeah." The large cyborg answered.

"Aw, we didn't get to play in the wind!" Luffy pouted, following the others back over to the building.

"I wonder what that was…" Zoro commented as he came up beside Luffy.

"It sounded like someone singing Bink's Sake." The gum-boy said, looking up to the sky for a moment.

When the wind started blowing again, he hurried over to the doors of the dorm and held on to them tightly. Something came up behind him and pressed against his back, and he realized it was Zoro using himself as a shield for him.

"What are you doing?!" the man asked.

"If I let go of the handle to get out my ID, I'll blow away!" Luffy shouted.

Zoro quickly reached into Luffy's pocket, then pulled out his ID and slid it in the scanner. Once the light changed from red to green, he yanked the door open. Grabbing Luffy by the arm, he tossed him inside and jumped in after him.

The door to the dormitory slammed shut and the two of them sat on the ground, panting heavily. The wind inside the hallway was much less intense, thankfully.

"C'mon, Luffy!" Zoro said, then helped him stand.

They both ran up the stairs, Luffy laughing from excitement as they did, and got to their floor.

"Shishishi! That was so much fun!"

"Fun?!" Zoro shouted disbelievingly.

"Yup! I always have fun with you, Zoro!"

The marimo said nothing in response. All he could do was smile to himself as he and Luffy came up to the girl's room.

"There they are!" Nami's voice rang out when the door opened.

Once Zoro and Luffy entered the room and the door closed behind them, a faint "Yohohoho" echoed in the wind once more.


	14. Flowers Bloom after the Storm

"So, Sanji-kun." Nami began as she walked into the kitchen, still drying her hair from her evening shower. She took a seat in the chair across from the curly-eyebrowed man before continuing, "What will you boys be doing tonight? Will you stay in our dorm, or will you go back to yours?"

Practically dying on the inside at the sight of Nami in a large t-shirt that showed off a good bit of her cleavage, and also noting how amazing her skin looked when still wet, Sanji had to turn away from the girl before he responded. "I don't really know. Everyone's having so much fun, and the storm is only just moving away from the school… I don't think Chopper is ready to go back to his room, and I'm sure Usopp and Luffy are enjoying their stay here… so-"

"You're staying then?!" the orange-haired girl asked excitedly.

"N-Nami-san…? Do you want me to… to sleep in your bed with you tonight?" Sanji asked. He was prepared for the fist that collided with his nose, but as a man who was being tempted by an angel, he had no choice but to ask a question like that.

"Keep your mind out of the gutter. …I honestly have no idea how you arrived at that conclusion, anyway." Nami said.

While holding his nose, which was bleeding for more than one reason, Sanji grinned at the girl. "I think we'd be okay staying another night." He mumbled from behind his hand.

"All right then. One more night will be fine. By the way, are you cooking tonight?"

"Of course, anything you want, my dear."

Luffy, having overheard their conversation from the living room, hurried into the kitchen and got on Nami's shoulder, pushing her forward. "Make lots of meat!" he exclaimed, while drooling in anticipation of such a dinner.

Nami reached up and grabbed the boy by the neck. "I JUST GOT OUT OF THE SHOWER, AND HERE YOU COME DROOLING ON ME!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Nami! Zoro… is asleep!" Luffy replied as he tried pulling the girl's hands from around his neck.

"Who cares about that!? You shouldn't go drooling on people just because you can't control your appetite!"

Sanji stood up and headed over to the refrigerator, then opened it to see what was left to cook. Inside was some raw fish he had brought from their dorm when he first came here. Even though it wasn't exactly meat, he was sure he could whip up with something Luffy would enjoy. And most importantly, something Nami would enjoy. "Nami-san, will you come give me a hand cooking this?" he asked.

"Sure thing." Said girl responded, and then released Luffy, who fell back onto his rear end.

"Chopper likes helping me out, too. Luffy, can you tell him I'm cooking."

"I'm coming!" the reindeer shouted from the living room. "Just give me a few seconds!"

Sanji looked over his shoulder and could see that he was in the middle of a battle with Robin, Usopp, and Vivi on another Mario video game.

Franky was watching, seated on the floor next to Robin, who was up on the couch.

"All right. Well we're gonna get started."

"Oh my, I'm sorry Usopp." Robin said as she shot him down with a red shell. "I didn't mean to fire."

"You did! You did it on purpose!" Usopp shouted, and then sighed despairingly. "I can never win when you're playing!"

"Cheer up, Usopp. You'll do better next time." Vivi said with a smile.

Luffy, who had finally regained his breath, put his hand on the chair and used it to pick himself up off the floor. Even for someone who can turn into rubber, having his windpipe restricted was a sure way to suffocate. Nami seemed to have let him go right when he felt himself about to lose consciousness.

Now he knew better than to let his appetite show in close vicinity to her.

Turning, he saw that the others in the living room were having a lot of fun playing their game, and he did want to join them, but he wanted to check on Zoro even more.

After sticking his tongue out at Nami's backside, he walked into the hallway and then opened the door to the room he and Zoro had been sharing.

* * *

Although Smoker had spent most of his time watching television since breakfast, Law found himself rather uninterested in pestering him. Mostly because he had so many things in his house that captured his attention.

One of the rooms that he had apparently turned into a library was unbelievably vast, filled with authors from many different ages and backgrounds.

It was the place he'd spent most of his day.

And what he found, surprisingly, beyond the regular literature, was a lot of manga.

Some of it was a little dark, and some of it was kind of lighthearted.

"Smoke-ya really does have a lot of interests." He said as he glanced around the large room.

Someone who liked to read, now that was hard to find these days. It appeared the esteemed captain of security at the university was definitely someone who was intelligent. Though, Law knew he could work his magic on the man and make him nervous, make him blush, irritate him, or even make him smile if he wanted to.

There was also a side to him he never imagined, from their first encounter, he'd see today. And that side, he admitted, reminded him of how a spouse would behave. His cooking being the prime example from the few times he had run into the man.

Putting down the manga that he had been reading for the past ten minutes, the boy got up and headed out of the room, looking for Smoker. He really wanted to be in his company for some reason. To rationalize his desire to be at Smoker's side, he told himself it was only because he probably wouldn't see him as much on campus once this was over… unless he purposely got into trouble.

"Smoke-breath." He called in the hallway.

"What is it?" he heard the man answer from the living room.

Somewhat eagerly, he headed there, and stopped when he saw the silver-haired man sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee in front of him on the coffee table. He had on a pair of glasses, had shed his button down and was now only wearing a sleeveless shirt, and was wearing a pair of sweat pants. He was also watching the news, unsurprisingly enough. And, as always, he was smoking two cigars at the same time.

"You're still watching the news?" Law asked, and then walked over to the couch.

"Well, there's more than one type of news. And I like to stay informed."

"…" After standing awkwardly for a moment, Law realized he could take a seat.

So that's exactly what he did.

Smoker turned to him and raised an eyebrow when he took a seat very close to him. "What do you want? Are you hungry? I can go make something-"

"I'm fine. I just wanted some company."

"Are you feeling lonely?"

"Do  _you_  ever feel lonely here?" the raven-haired boy countered.

After taking his cigars out, Smoker shook his head. "I'm usually at work or out in town. If I'm here, I'm either sleeping or relaxing from dealing with brats like you. Well… I guess not everyone at the university is a brat. Some people there are older than I am, yet I still have to treat them like children if they break the rules."

Just before the man could put his cigars back into his mouth, Law stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Smoker asked, noting how the boy was leaning over him now.

"Smoker…"

"What?"

Feeling his heart beating fast, Law turned and looked the larger man in the eyes. "You're not as bad as I first thought…"

"Thanks for the compliment. I guess you're also more bearable than I first thought you were."

Though Smoker seemed completely oblivious, Law was trying to make an advance on him. He didn't know why he was doing it, but he was glad that it was failing miserably. When he realized he was still too close for comfort, he released the man's arm and then sat up straight. "I guess… I'll be calling it a day."

"It's only seven o'clock. You'd call me an old geezer for going to sleep this early, I'm sure of it."

"You've got that right." The tattooed boy said, and then stood up.

With a faint blush on his cheeks, he turned and headed to the back without a single glance over his shoulder. If he had looked back, he was sure he would have wanted to stay in that man's company.

Even though he hadn't left the house today, he decided to take a bath before he got into bed.

After walking into the bathroom, he stopped and looked back at the door.

He was going to close it all the way and lock it, but something told him not to. And he listened to it.

Deep down, he was interested to find out if Smoker would join him for a bath again.

Walking over to the large tub, he turned on the water and then looked over his shoulder for a second before he started undressing, very slowly.

He was a bit disappointed when the tub filled and there was no sign of Smoker.

With a sigh, he stepped into the hot water, and then completely submerged himself beneath its surface.

Eventually, the need for oxygen made him come back up. Still no Smoker.

Looking over to the body washes, he took the 'Sakura's Fox' bottle into his hand and decided he would use it tonight. Although it started out spitefully, when he opened the cap, he was pleased at the aroma it had. On the bottle, there was a pink-haired girl riding on a fox's back. At the bottom, it read "Heaven's beauty and Earth's caress are combined in this wash in order to make your skin soft and durable."

The fact that Smoker had something like this intrigued him.

And he used as much of it as possible during his lonesome bath.

…

Once he finished bathing and soaking, he pulled the drain stopper out, and then got out of the tub. After drying his hair and drying off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom.

"Oi, Smoke-breath-" he began as he walked into the living room.

To his surprise, the man was not where he had left him earlier.

"Strange…"

Turning around, he headed to the bedroom.

He stopped in the doorway when he saw Smoker lying on his side on the bed, fast asleep.

His first thought was to play a prank on him, but he decided against it. Instead, he walked over to the dresser and pulled out something to sleep in, which wasn't hard to do since Smoker's clothes were all too big for him, and after dressing, he climbed into bed with the man.

On the nightstand, he noticed, there were two cigar butts in an ashtray.

"You really are an old man, aren't you? Watch the news and then fall asleep before eight… You'll never get married at this rate." He commented. "…Not that I care, or anything…"

For just a few seconds, he stared at Smoker.

It was undeniably considerate of him to let him stay here for the storm. He didn't seem to have any hidden motives in doing this, either. This man's kind nature and honest efforts kind of reminded him of Mugiwara.

" _There really are good people out there, huh…"_

Leaning over the larger man, he turned the lamp off and got under the covers, before turning away from him.

"I guess I'm no better than you." He said, and then closed his eyes.

* * *

Luffy peeked into his and Zoro's room to see if Zoro was asleep.

It didn't surprise him that the lights were out and marimo was lying under the covers with only the top of his head visible.

Even though the smell of Sanji's cooking was tempting him to go back into the kitchen, he knew dinner was far from finished, and he also knew he didn't want to go drooling around Nami again.

So, as quietly as possible, he slipped into the room and closed the door behind himself. There was nothing wrong with lying in bed until dinner was ready, after all.

As he tiptoed over to the bed, he noticed that Zoro had started stirring.

"Luffy?" Zoro called, and then sat up to rub his eye.

"Oh, hey. I wasn't trying to wake you…" the gum-boy responded softly.

"No, it's fine. What time is it?"

"About eight thirty. And Sanji is cooking even though it's this late." Luffy answered.

After climbing up onto the bed, he made to get under the covers next to the man, but Zoro stopped him by putting his hand on his wrist.

"What is it?"

With a blush, Zoro looked everywhere but at Luffy. "I uh… I have-"

"Don't tell me you have another stiffy…"

"Yeah… I have no control over it when I'm sleeping, you know."

Luffy shook his head. "How do you get rid of them when you're on your own?"

"How do you think?"

"…Hmm, you should think about things that are unattractive to you. That should help it go away."

"…" Zoro released Luffy's wrist and couldn't help but think that him being right next to him wouldn't help him get rid of his problem.

"Try thinking about something like… um, old people. Or puppies! Think of things people wouldn't normally be attracted to, and that will help it go away."

"Right…"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No, stay and talk to me, please."

"Well, let's see… Uh, did you know that we're staying here until tomorrow morning?"

"What? Why?"

"The storm has pretty much passed, but San- um…  _Nami_  said we should stay. Since everyone's having so much fun together, I guess she doesn't want us to go. And I think she really likes Sanji's cooking."

"Fun, huh?"

"Yeah. Aren't you enjoying yourself?"

"…Well-"

Luffy got closer to him. "Don't you like sleeping with me?"

Instead of shying away from the boy's advance, Zoro leaned forward so that his nose and Luffy's were almost touching. "I'm definitely liking that."

"Hey… Zoro…"

"Yeah?"

"I know you don't want to date, and you don't want a relationship, but… would you maybe… want to keep being together like this? We don't have to put a label on what we're doing, and we don't have to go out, either…"

"I don't see any harm in that."

When he saw Luffy smile at his answer, Zoro felt his stomach turning.

Though he didn't want to admit it, he really loved that smile.

Lifting his arms, he reached out and pulled the small boy closer by his shoulders, then kissed him. A few seconds into their kiss, he decided to pull Luffy on top of him to let him feel just how much he enjoyed being with him like this.

When Luffy felt Zoro's erection through the sheets, he blushed and had to look away.

"Luffy? What's wrong?"

"I just… It's true that I really like you… but even though I act confident about this… I'm pretty nervous…"

"Don't be nervous. I won't hurt you. I'd  _never_  hurt you, Luffy. You're… you're my nakama, remember?"

The boy pushed off of Zoro a bit and looked him in the eye. "Y-yeah." He said, feeling more encouraged.

"If you want to keep seeing me like this, I'm fine with that. But we have to be careful. I don't really want Eyebrow or Nami finding out about this."

"Just those two?"

"Well, if the others find out, they probably wouldn't make a big deal about it. But Eyebrow would never let me live it down, and Nami might find out we've been doing it here. That needs to be avoided at all costs. Plus… I don't want to give her the satisfaction of being right…"

"Being right? You mean when she said you were hiding something when we all first met?"

"Kind of. I mean, I  _wasn't_  hiding anything when she said that, but now that's exactly what I'm doing."

"I won't tell Nami and Sanji, or anyone else. But if they find out-"

"If they find out, they find out. I'm sure no one would be against it or anything."

"Right."

"There's something else I wanna tell you, Luffy."

"Yeah?"

"I don't want you pursuing that Law guy anymore." Zoro said seriously.

"What? How come?"

"I just don't want you to. You can do so much better than him."

"I could… but  _you_  won't let me."

Zoro turned away. "You know I have my reasons…"

"…Yeah…"

The marimo turned back and stared Luffy in the eyes before he spoke again. "Besides, even though we're not dating, what would you do if you did get him to go out with you? Would you just forget about me?" he asked.

Luffy grabbed a handful of the sheets, "No, I couldn't forget you, Zoro!"

"Then what will you do? Are you gonna keep chasing after that guy, or-"

"I'll keep doing this with you. You've… you've become so important to me. And… he's turned me down so many times that the idea of dating him has become like a dream. But you-what we have right now is something. I can hold you like this..." The boy said, and then wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck.

When Luffy buried his face in his chest, Zoro felt his cheeks going warm. But regardless of his nervousness, he lifted both of his hands and slowly ran them down the small boy's backside, resting them on his ass when they reached it.

And the two of them stayed like that for the rest of the night, falling asleep in each other's warm embrace.

The others hadn't bothered to come get them for dinner, as most everyone was all for the idea of them spending time together. Another good reason they didn't was Luffy's incredibly large appetite…

* * *

The next morning.

Usopp sat in the kitchen tinkering with the project he had taken from his room, trying to get some work done on it. As he expected, he hadn't really touched it in all the time that classes had been cancelled.

Robin surprised him by grabbing his shoulders from behind, and he turned to face her.

She had obviously just woken up. He could tell because she was wearing a large, button down shirt that covered whatever bottoms she was wearing... or not wearing… who knew?

A thought about how these girls dressed for bed crept into his mind, but he dismissed it. This was their room and they were all women, after all. They would do whatever they wanted to because women were more comfortable around each other than men were.

"Good morning, Robin." He said.

"Morning." The woman smiled. "What is that?" she asked.

"It's a project for one of my engineering classes. I was supposed to work on it during the storm-"

"But you got caught up in socializing."

"Yeah… It's not due for a while, but I still wanted to get the majority of the work done while we had this time off from class. I haven't even been able to make the arms move."

"Maybe Franky can give you some advice." The raven-haired woman suggested, and then turned and headed into the living room.

She stopped in front of Franky, who was asleep on the couch, and kneeled down beside him.

"Franky."

The only response she got was loud snoring and a bubble that came out from the man's metallic nose.

"Franky, could you wake up, please?"

Still, there was no sign of Franky waking up.

"Hmm…" the woman said. After crossing her arms across her chest, she smiled. " _Dos Fleurs! Grab!_ "

Usopp's eyes went wide when he saw a pair of arms generate from Franky's upper thighs, and he got up and ran over when the hands started squeezing Franky's genitals.

"OOOOOOOOOOWWW!" Franky shouted, and then sat up quickly.

Robin dispelled her arms and stepped back to catch her breath. "Doing that inside is so physically taxing…" she said, panting lightly.

After sitting up, Franky stared up at Robin angrily. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"To wake you... We need your help..." she said, still catching her breath.

Usopp scratched his head. "Well… not really… but if you could help give me some advice, that'd be great."

Franky was about to say something, but he stopped when Nami, Vivi, and Chopper walked in from the hallway, each one looking like they'd just woken up.

"Hey Usopp, can you get this thing off the table please…?" Nami asked while standing with her arms folded.

The long-nosed boy came over to the table and picked up his invention. "I was about to head back over to our room with it. I just wanted to do some work here so I could always remember that this is also a place that it was worked on."

"It's been really fun, I know." Vivi said with a smile as she sat down to the table.

Chopper hopped up into a chair and stared at the contraption on the table until Usopp picked it up. "How long have you been working on it?" he asked.

"Not too long…" Usopp lied. He had been working on it for two whole days, spending a good bit of his time in the engineering lab to build it. "I've got some time before it's due, so I'll just keep working on it at a steady pace. For now, I'm taking it back to the room."

"Want me to go?" the reindeer asked.

"Sure."

"Okay!"

Eagerly, Chopper hopped down to the floor, then he and Usopp headed over to the front door.

"Oh, wait for me!" Vivi said. She got up from the table quickly and hurried over to the door as well.

"We'll be back in just a few." Usopp said as he opened the door and let Chopper and Vivi walk out ahead of him.

"Kay." Nami said, and then sat down in the chair Chopper had just left.

Sanji entered the kitchen with perfect timing and took a seat across from her. "Good morning, Nami-san. What would you like for breakfast? I'll make it extra special since this is our last day staying together." He said, trying his best to work his charms on her.

"Anything is fine." The girl answered. "Hey, Sanji-kun."

"Yes?"

"Do you think something happened between Zoro and Luffy while you guys were staying here?"

"…I don't know. But I doubt it."

"Luffy really likes him… you can tell by the way he acts around him. I don't see what it is he likes about Zoro, though."

"Maybe we're just on the outside looking in." Sanji suggested. "Plus we have to remember that not everyone thinks the way Luffy does. He could see something he likes in that marimo that we would probably never see, or _want_  to see."

Nami rested her head on her hand. "You have a point there. Zoro's a decent person, from what I've seen of him when he's not isolating himself, but he's not anywhere near what I'm interested in."

"What types of men catch your attention, Nami-san?"

"Forget it. I'm not telling you."

"Nami-swaaaaaaan…"

Robin smiled as she watched Sanji and Nami having one of their usual lover's spats. Even though they weren't lovers... "I've noticed that you've opened up a lot, Franky. Especially to Luffy." she said after turning to the man sitting on the couch beside her.

"I had no choice since I was pretty much stuck here with you guys. But I guess I did enjoy myself. It's been a while since I… since I…" Franky started tearing up, causing Robin's frosty blue eyes to widen, "I haven't been able to connect with people like this since I left Water 7!" he cried hysterically.

"Oh my…"

"What's Panty Man crying about?" Sanji asked.

"I think he's homesick or something." The girl responded.

"Homesick?"

Both Sanji and Nami turned when the door to the room Zoro and Luffy were staying in opened.

"Good morning, Luffy." Nami said when said boy came out.

Rubbing his eyes, Luffy walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. "Morning, guys. Where's breakfast?"

"I was actually just about to start cooking before you came in." Sanji answered, and then got up from the table.

Nami took a careful look at Luffy as he sat rubbing his stomach. And then she noticed it. "Luffy, are your… are your lips swollen…?!"

Sanji looked over his shoulder, and both Robin and Franky turned their attention to the gum-boy sitting in the kitchen at the table.

Luffy blushed and tried hiding his lips, and that's when Zoro came out from the room.

He stretched and yawned as he walked into the kitchen, then nonchalantly greeted everyone. He was very oblivious to the somewhat suspicious looks that were being thrown his way.

There was a silence that followed his greeting. A very, very awkward one.

Just before Nami broke the silence, the front door flew open and Vivi almost fell inside.

"Guys! You need to come quick!" she shouted.

* * *

"Usopp! What happened?!" Sanji asked as he ran up to the long-nosed boy who was sitting on the ground.

"The… the storm is what happened!" Usopp replied, with tears running down his face.

Everyone else hurried over to him and then started trying to figure out why he was crying.

Sanji, on the other hand, turned and saw that the door to their dorm was open. "Where' s Chopper?" he asked.

"He's inside…"

Zoro walked past Sanji and pushed the door to their dorm open. The scene before him caused him to become wide-eyed with shock.

"Zoro…" Chopper mumbled when he saw him.

"What the hell happened in here?"

The reindeer came over to the marimo with a sad look on his face. "When we got here, the front door was open, so I can only assume the rain found its way inside… and that's where all this water damage and mold came from. The tv and a few other things are missing, so I guess someone took advantage of the room being open and took what was out here…"

Sanji and Luffy came into the dorm next.

"What the-"

"There's so much mold everywhere…"

"Oi, you baka marimo! You left the door open, didn't you?!" Sanji shouted accusingly.

"I didn't." Zoro replied calmly.

Chopper looked down to the floor before speaking. "Usopp told me it was his fault."

"Shit… If it was our fault… the university won't be willing to fix this for us… We'll probably be charged with the expenses they need to fix it." Sanji said, and then lifted his hand to hold his head.

"It was probably just a mistake. I don't want to point the finger at anyone."

Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper all looked at Luffy.

"Right." Zoro agreed.

"…Yeah… but even if we're not pointing the finger, we still have nowhere to stay. Our rooms seem okay since all of our doors are closed, but we can't live in here anymore."

"We'll figure something out." Luffy assured.

…

"It's all my fault!" Usopp cried hopelessly into Nami's shirt.

"Usopp, calm down!" the orange-haired girl responded. "I'm sure none of the guys will be mad at you."

"So the room was open the whole time the storm was raging…" Robin commented. She had to imagine it was no longer suitable for people to stay in.

"Usopp, please calm down! It'll be okay! You guys can stay with us until you find somewhere else to stay!" Nami offered.

While she tried consoling Usopp, Franky put his hand on Robin's shoulder and gently moved her aside so he could go into the room.

"What's he doing?" Vivi asked.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure." She replied.

Nami felt her chest becoming very wet from the amount of tears Usopp was shedding over this disaster. She reached up and gently started rubbing the boy's back. It was something  _Belle-mère_  used to do for her when she was crying.

"Nami! I always end up screwing things up! The guys will hate me for sure!"

Vivi went a little closer and tried calming him down, since Nami wasn't successful trying alone. "No one hates you, Usopp!" she said.

Robin's eyes moved from the three in front of her to the door when it opened.

It was Franky.

He came out of the room, having to turn sideways to exit, and then waited for the other four to come out of the room.

Usopp could not bring himself to pull his face out of Nami's chest to see their reactions.

Nami turned and looked at Sanji. "Sanji-kun-"

"Nami-san, we're going to go get our things."

"What? Where are you four going to stay?! If the room's all molded, there' no way you can-"

"We'll manage."

Zoro walked on ahead of everyone to go retrieve his swords from the girls' dorm.

Even though he wanted to stick close to Zoro, Luffy knew he needed to cheer Usopp up. So he walked over to Nami and bent down beside her. "Oi, Usopp. There's no use crying over spilled milk. We're gonna make it through this. I don't know how, but I'll find us all somewhere to stay."

"But you guys don't have to leave just yet." Nami said.

"Yeah, we can just keep living the way we've been living for the past two days." Vivi added.

Sanji ran his hand through his blonde hair for a second. "There's no way we'd want to inconvenience you all like that. It's so imposing." He said.

"My room is available for you guys. It's only got one bed, but we can make do with that. Plus there's a couch and lots of floor space." Chopper suggested.

"But Chopper, wouldn't you find yourself in trouble for doing something like that?" Robin asked. "Of course the security cameras would catch on to you. The only reason we could do it was because the rules aren't so strictly enforced in this hall."

"Yeah, but Robin-"

"Like I said, I'll find us somewhere." Luffy said. "Usopp, no one is blaming you for this, so you can stop crying."

"But if I had been more careful-"

"I didn't even know about the door handle until Zoro told me about it just now. So it could have just as easily been my mistake, too. But you should know I'd never hold anything against a nakama of mine."

And with that, Luffy stood up, ready to dismiss the matter.

"Come on. Let's go back to our room so we can figure this out." Vivi said.

She helped Nami stand, with Usopp still clinging on to her, and the three of them headed down the hallway. Sanji quietly followed after them after closing the door to their room.

"Don't be reckless, Chopper." Robin stated calmly.

"Hm?"

"The boys can stay with us. You don't need to put yourself in a bind when we already have the arrangements for them to stay."

"…But-"

"Come on. Let's get back as well. Maybe we can all come up with something together." The raven-haired woman said, and then made her way down the hallway.

Chopper nodded and caught up to her. "I hope so…" he mumbled.

"Do you really not blame Long Nose for all that damage?" Franky asked Luffy when they were alone.

"Of course not. Sometimes things happen that you can't control, but you have to keep moving forward. That's the way the world works." The gum-boy replied.

"You think so, huh?"

"Yeah. Anyway, what are you going to do? Are you going to leave now that the storm is over?"

"I don't know. I still have some work to do here and in the town back in the city, so I might just be around."

"It was fun having you around. You should hang out with us more often." Luffy said sincerely.

Franky watched as the boy turned and walked down the hallway with tears in his eyes that he had to fight to keep from falling. "Being so nice to me, bakayaro!" he shouted, and then his tears started falling.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the living room when Luffy entered the dorm. Nami, Robin, and Vivi were all on the couch, while Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper were seated on the floor around the coffee table.

Zoro was standing by the window, holding on to his precious swords under his arm and his bag down at his feet, ready to find himself another place to stay if necessary.

"I told you, you can stay with us." Nami said to Sanji.

"And I told you I don't want to impose." The blonde responded.

Usopp couldn't speak. He was still very depressed that it was his fault they weren't all laughing and joking about this storm.

"Listen, my father's a king." Vivi began, "He can pay for your room to be fixed."

"Don't the citizens in Alabasta need his support more than we do?" Zoro asked.

"Um… Well yeah, but…"

Luffy walked over and took a seat on the floor next to Sanji. "We can put together and buy some tents-"

"Why won't you guys listen to me?!" Nami asked. "Swallow your pride and accept the hand that's offering you help! I swear, men have so many complexes it's ridiculous…"

No one said anything after that.

Vivi brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, then put her forehead on her knees. Nami did have a point. Along with Robin, the three of them had decided it was fine for the boys to keep staying, yet they apparently didn't want to  _impose_ …

"Luffy," Robin began. When the boy looked at her, she continued. "You go on and on about being nakama, and your words seem sincere, but do you believe them?"

"What?" the boy asked.

"Nakama look out for each other and are there through thick and thin. I had never known what it meant to have people care for me and give me such warm company until meeting you all. And you… you continue boasting about being a nakama, but you follow Sanji's example and ignore us when we're trying to help you. If you truly believe we're all nakama, then-"

"OOOOOIII!" Franky shouted anxiously as he bursted into the dorm.

"What are you screaming about?!" Nami asked.

"Hehe! I'm going to solve your housing problem!"

Everyone stared at him with confused expressions on their faces.

"We know you're a carpenter… but how could that fix water damage?" Sanji asked.

"I'm not going to fix the room-"

"Then what are you planning to do?" Chopper interrupted.

"I'm going to-"

"Yeah, if you're not fixing their room, what could you possibly do to fix this?" Nami added.

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME AND LISTEN!" After making sure he had everyone's attention and wouldn't be cut off again, Franky smiled at them confidently. "I'm going to  _build_  you guys a place to stay!"


	15. Clear Skies and a Celebration to Come

"I really don't need you to walk me back to my room…" Law mumbled as he was escorted across campus to his dorm.

Smoker rolled his eyes. "Everything I do isn't for you, you know… I need to check up on things and get back to work. Class starts today and I can't let you brats with Devil Fruit powers go crazy since the storm just passed."

"That doesn't make any sense…"

"Of course it does! Everyone thinks we at the Police Department are swamped and overwhelmed at the moment, so you'll use this opportunity to go crazy. I've seen it happen before in even smaller and less serious situations than a hurricane."

"You sure are a devoted man, huh?"

"I wouldn't be head of my department if I wasn't."

Law didn't respond. And for the rest of the walk back to his dorm, he kept his attention on everything but Smoker. The sun was just barely coming out, but even without it he could see the damage done to the buildings everywhere. Luckily nothing too serious had happened. Only a few fallen trees here and an overturned vehicle there.

"Hey, this is it, right?" Smoker asked when Law walked past his hall.

"Oh, yeah. That's it." After pulling out his ID card, he slid it in the card reader and was granted access to the building. Smoker came in behind him when he entered, and he turned to face him. "Why are you still following me?" he asked, irritated by the man's presence.

"I'm getting you back to your room. The job's not done 'til it's done." Smoker replied, and then pulled some cigars from a pocket inside his jacket.

"Tch…"

Quickly, Law started walking up the stairs and then came to a stop in front of his door. Hopefully his roommates were in, because he didn't want to deal with Smoker any longer.

"Well, knock or something. If you don't have a key, that's the only way you'll get in."

"I know that." Law sighed and lifted his hand to knock on the door, but paused just before it touched it. He looked down to his feet and felt himself growing nervous. He wanted to say something, but his voice was failing him.

"What's wrong?" Smoker asked.

"…I… Smoke-ya… I… want to thank you again for letting me stay with you. You really are a decent guy." With that said, the smaller man quickly knocked on his door.

"You don't have to keep thanking me. I was just doing what anyone would have done."

Before Law could tell him he was wrong, the door to his dorm room opened, revealing Bepo.

"Law, where have you been?" the white bear asked.

"I could ask you the same thing!" said man replied, raising his voice a bit. "I came knocking right when the storm hit, but no one was here!"

Smoker watched in awe as Law entered his room and the door shut.

Trafalgar Law was definitely an interesting character.

* * *

One o'clock.

"Nami-san." The professor called before the girl could leave the classroom.

Nami waited for all the other students to leave the class before walking over the professor's desk. "Yes, Haredas-san?"

The old man smiled. "There's something I need your help with."

"Me? O-okay, What is it? Is there some incredible research you need my assistance with?!"

Professor Haredas pulled out a paper from his desk and handed it to the girl. "Take a look at that."

Nami's brown eyes scanned the page from top to bottom, then she stared confusedly at her professor. "All this is talking about is a festival."

"Exactly. The school's had a little extra spending money for a while, so the President wanted to bring in this new academic year with a celebration. And now that the storm is over and the campus suffered minimal damage, he said we have all the more reason to celebrate."

"…How do I fit into all of this?"

"I need a coordinator. I'm a busy man, you know. I need someone smart, dependable, and hard-working to make sure everything is in order. Since this will be a weeklong festival, I have no choice but to turn to a student for help."

"While your compliments are flattering, and I appreciate the trust you have in me, I don't know about this. Why should I be head of such a difficult task. There's so much to consider, like the spending budget, the equipment to set up the tents, getting food, decorations…" Nami stopped talking when she realized she had a perfect team at her disposal to aid her with this task. But she wasn't going to give in to old Haredas so easily. He needed to make her an offer.

"There's no way you'd do this for free, I know." The old man said with a sigh. "How about 50 bonus points."

"…Hmm…"

"60?"

"…I don't know…"

"…100 points."

"You've got yourself a deal, Haredas-san!"

"Okay then. The festival will start in two days, so do your best."

"You can count on me!" Nami said. With a smile at her appointed position, she hurried out of the classroom and immediately thought about finding Robin.

* * *

Three-thirty in the afternoon.

On his way back from the activity center, where he had spent an hour and a half lifting and running on the treadmill, Zoro made his way across campus, noting the few fallen trees and debris that had yet to be picked up. The storm hadn't done as much damage as he expected it would.

Thankfully, the skies were clear today. It didn't even seem like a storm had hit.

When he walked past the library, he stopped when he spotted Luffy looking through the books on the second floor through the window.

"What is he doing?" he asked quietly.

At first, he was going to keep going back to Nami's dorm, but decided it was time he gave… 'hanging out' a chance. Luffy told him he didn't spend enough time with everyone, so why not take a small step towards that now?

After getting a few strange stares from some of the people sitting in the coffee shop he'd entered through, he realized he was a bit sweaty and had a towel draped over his neck. But they were looking at him like he wasn't even wearing a shirt!

With cherry red cheeks, he climbed the stairs and got to the second floor, then looked around for Luffy.

"Zoro?!" Luffy's voice came from behind the marimo.

Zoro quickly turned around, and when Luffy made to shout again, he put his hand over his mouth. "Lu-ffy…! Don't shout in a library…!" he whispered.

"Shishishishi!" the gum-boy laughed under the man's large hand.

"What are you doing here? Did you just get out of class?"

Luffy pulled Zoro's hand down from over his mouth and then shook his head. "No, I've been here for about thirty minutes looking for a book I need for my English class… We need to read it by next month so we can write a report on it."

"I'm pretty sure you're in the wrong place. You should go to the bookstore. I think they have it there since so many students need it, and you know anytime this place can squeeze students for money, they will."

"Damn it… Nami took all my money last week."

Zoro stared at Luffy for a second, then pulled out his wallet. "Here, this should cover the book." He said, handing the boy a twenty and a ten.

"Z-Zoro, you don't have to-"

"It's cool. I'm actually going to start working at the activity center in about two weeks. So I have a little money to throw around. Don't let Eyebrow know, though. Or Nami. Those two are always scheming… I'm sure she'd trick me out of my money if she found out, and he'd be more than willing to help her…"

"Thank you." Luffy said with a smile. "I won't say a word."

Zoro averted his gaze and turned. "It's no problem…" he mumbled. That smile always gave him butterflies, and he was sure his cheeks were red again.

Luffy started walking over to the stairs, but turned when Zoro didn't follow him. "Wanna walk with me to the bookstore?"

"…Uh… Sure."

Somewhere deep down, Zoro was glad Luffy was so oblivious.

* * *

While he and Zoro made their way to the bookstore, Luffy couldn't help but want to take his hand or be close to him. The only thing he could do was step a little closer to the taller man.

"So how were your classes after drawing class?" Zoro asked.

"They were good. Well, good until I found out I had to read this book for English. I don't like reading." The gum-boy replied. "What about you?"

"I only had drawing class today. My other teachers cancelled class today. His neighborhood must've been hit by the storm harder than we were."

"Luckyyyy!"

"I know. I didn't know what to do with myself." Zoro grinned.

"I'm sure you went to the activity center."

"Only for an hour or so. I spent most of my morning napping."

"You're the only guy I know who can be lazy and active at the same time."

"Urusai…"

When they reached the bookstore, Zoro waited outside for Luffy to get his book. Then when he came back out with it, they decided to pick up some lunch from the cafeteria.

…

Zoro shook his head when Luffy came to their table with a plate full of meat. "You're like a black hole or something…" he said disapprovingly.

"I have a healthy appetite! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"…So how do you think Franky's doing building us a place to stay?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I really don't know. I wonder  _what_  it is he's building. Maybe something like an apartment…?"

"Wasn't he doing some work on campus before the storm?"

"I think so…" the gum-boy said, and then got back to eating his food.

"Luffy, you shouldn't eat so much. Even a gum person like you must get full sometimes, right?"

"That's not very often, shishishishi!"

Zoro picked up the drink he'd gotten to go with his lunch and took in a mouthful of it.

He realized now that Luffy was a person who was very set in his ways. Not that it was a bad thing. In fact, he actually kind of liked him more for that. Just… in moments like these, he wished he would listen to people.

"Luffy! Zoro!"

Both Luffy and Zoro turned when they heard the sounds of their names.

It was Usopp. He and Chopper were making their way over to them.

"Hey you two!" Chopper greeted when he reached the two somewhat boisterous men.

"What's up, guys?" Luffy smiled.

Usopp looked down to Chopper, and they both shared a smile. "We've got good news." He said.

"What's that?" Zoro asked.

"The school's throwing a festival!" the reindeer said excitedly. There was a gleam in his eyes that showed just how happy the thought of this festival made him.

"Why's there a festival?" the marimo continued

"Nami told us about it. It has something to do with celebration about the storm not completely destroying the campus. And I looked it up. The founder of this university was born on the eighteenth, which happens to be the second day of the festival. I doubt that's a coincidence." Usopp said.

Luffy burped before speaking. "So what's going to be at the festival?"

"We're gonna find out tonight when Nami tells us!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "How does she know?" he asked.

"Don't know. She said she'd tell us more tonight when everyone was gathered."

"Oi Luffy, let's go back with Usopp and Chopper."

Said boy nodded and picked up his dishes to take them to the dish return. Zoro pushed both of their seats in and followed him to do the same.

While the two were away, Chopper tapped Usopp on his leg. "Hey Usopp, don't you think it's interesting how Zoro and Luffy are eating lunch together?"

"Yeah… now that you mention it, they've been together a lot lately. Think something happened?" the long-nosed boy replied.

"Maybe. They have been sharing a room, and they do have a class together."

"They're coming, and look, they're walking right beside each other!"

"Hehe, they look really nice together." The reindeer said with a smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Zoro asked when he and Luffy came back.

"Nothing. It's really nothing."

Deciding to take the lead, Usopp started walking over to the glass doors. "Let's go meet up with everyone so Nami can tell us more about this festival." He said.

Chopper hurried after him, "Coming!" he shouted.

Zoro and Luffy continued walking side by side as they exited the cafeteria and followed their two friends back to their dorm.

* * *

"There you guys are!" Nami said when Chopper, Usopp, Zoro, and Luffy entered her dorm room.

"Hey Nami!" Chopper greeted.

"Hurry, hurry, sit down!" the girl ordered, pointing to the living room, where Sanji and Vivi were seated.

"Nami, what's this about?" Vivi asked while the four who had just entered found seats.

"Yeah, and where's Robin-chan?" Sanji added.

"Robin's busy doing a little research for what kinds of foods we'll need for the festival."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "What? Why would  _we_  need to have… Oh no…"

"That's right! We're all going to pitch in and help set up for this festival! Of course, after we do, you boys will be working some of the booths." Nami said with a determined and excited look on her face.

"Why do we have to do it?!" Luffy shouted.

"Because I need help. Don't you guys wanna help me?" the orange-haired girl asked.

"Anything for you, Nami-swaaaaaan!" Sanji exclaimed, his eye full of stars, metaphorically of course.

"What will you do during the festival?" Zoro asked.

"Shut it, marimo!"

"Make me, curly brow!"

Nami closed her eyes in anger for a second. "Enough! You guys are perfect for this job, and there's so much to do! I've already divided you into teams for preparation and execution of this." Pulling a stack of paper off the counter, she walked over to the group and handed each person one. "If you look down, you'll see your name next to your partner's, and a list of jobs I need you to do."

Everyone looked their packet over to figure out what it was they had been assigned:

_Stage 1: Preparation_

_Art Coordinators – Vivi and Chopper_

_Decoration Coordinators – Luffy and Zoro_

_Food Prep – Sanji and Usopp_

_Director/Manager – Nami_

_Lighting – Robin and Franky (if he's not working on whatever it is he's doing)_

_Stage 2: Set Up_

_Everyone sets up all over campus. You'll need to take your time out of class to do this._

_Stage 3: Execution_

_Game Stands – Chopper and Vivi (see me for details)_

_Food Stand – Sanji (also in charge of keeping Luffy away from meats)_

_Security – Zoro (along with a few other student volunteers)_

_Fish Catching Stand - Robin_

_Giant Prize Stand – Luffy (don't leave your post or steal prizes)_

"I'm offended you think I'd do that." Luffy asked when he read the last part.

"You shouldn't be." Nami said.

"What will you be doing exactly?" Zoro asked.

"I'm in charge of all of this! I have to make sure everything goes well."

Sanji got up and walked over to Nami. After taking her hand into his and looking her in the eye, he smiled. "I'll do anything for you, Nami-san. You can count on me."

"Thank you, Sanji-kun! I'm counting on you, and everyone! Let's make this a great festival!" Nami said to everyone enthusiastically.


	16. Beach Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy New year!!

"Zoro, where are we going?" Luffy asked as he and said marimo made their way off campus, headed towards the beach.

"We need to find some decorations, remember?" Zoro replied.

"…But shouldn't we head into the city for that?"

"That's where I'm going."

Luffy poked his lips out. He'd always known Zoro had a bad sense of direction, he never knew it was this bad, though. He decided against saying anything because he figured maybe going to the beach together for a bit would be nice.

They weren't dating, but it was nice to feel like they were.

With a smile, he walked closer to Zoro and then bumped shoulders with him.

"What is it?" the taller man asked.

"Just wanted your attention."

"Luffy, you're one of the only people I give my full attention to."

"I know, shishishi! So what kind of decorations are we getting from the beach?"

"What? We're going to the city."

"Then what kind of decorations are we getting from the city?"

"Well, first we should set up that beach themed booth that Chopper and Vivi started working on. So I guess any sand and shells we find would be good."

As the two of them reached the top of the hill, Luffy got into a thinking pose. "Shouldn't we go to the beach for those things?"

"… You're right. Let's go there now." Zoro replied, and then turned around.

Luffy grabbed him by the arm, making him turn to him with a questionable look on his face.

"Zoro, the beach is right down this hill." The boy said, pointing down the hill

"No way!"

"Shshishi! C'mon!" Luffy insisted, leading Zoro down the hill.

When they did get to the beach, Zoro oddly enough found himself interested in playing around with Luffy for a bit. The two of them horsed around with each other, kicked sand into the air, ran into the eddying water, skipped rocks (well Luffy attempted to), and just enjoyed what was there for them to do together on the beach. It got to the point where they'd spent about two hours just doing nothing. And even though it felt like they weren't accomplishing much, their time spent together was theirs and theirs alone.

"Oi, Luffy." Zoro said, holding on to a flat piece of driftwood that he was about to use to attempt surfing.

"What?"

"Is that… a person?" the marimo asked, and then pointed to a tall figure standing a ways down the beach.

"I think so!" Luffy shouted. He wasted no time in running towards the person. However, when they turned, he was tackled to the ground by Zoro. "Zoro!"

"It's-It's a skeleton!" said man exclaimed.

Luffy and Zoro started arguing about what to do, Zoro wanting to avoid the person and Luffy wanting to go see them. They were so distracted that they only just noticed the afro-having skeleton when he was a few feet away from them.

"Hello there."

Zoro was speechless, and when knocked off by Luffy, all he could do was watch as the boy stood up and held his hand out.

"I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure's all mine. My name is Brook."

"You're dead."

"Reborn, if you will."

"Huh? Reborn?" Luffy echoed questionably.

"That's right. I ate a Devil Fruit that allowed me to return to my body after I died. I wasn't fast enough, though, because my body had turned to bones by the time I reached it."

"That's soo coooool!"

"Thank you…?"

"What are you doing out here?! Why aren't you in the city?"

Brook pulled a violin out and started playing an elegant melody on it. "I could never go into the city like this. They'd never understand or accept me. So when I washed up here on this beach, I decided to live out my life here in peace. I can play my violin and sing my heart out… though I have no heart anymore."

"So you just live here on the beach?"

"That's right. And my song echoes on the wind, yohohohoho!" the afro-having skeleton laughed.

"Then you're the one we heard during the hurricane." Zoro said as he stood up and dusted the sand off of his pants.

"Most likely."

"You should come live with us!" Luffy nearly ordered. "This is no place for someone to live!"

Zoro walked up to Luffy and looked down to him, "Luffy, you can't just invite someone to live somewhere you're a guest."

"But-"

"Nami would kill you."

"…"

That was true.

"I appreciate you wanting to give me a place to stay, Luffy. But I do not go where I would be unwanted." Brook said as he continued playing his violin. "Let me stay here. I don't bother anyone and no one bothers me."

Disappointed that he couldn't help Brook, Luffy pouted a bit. Then the thought of something. "Oi, you should come to the festival! Play your music and show everyone you're a good guy!"

"Festival?"

"Mhmm! It starts in two days!"

"Well, perhaps I could-"

"Say you will!" Luffy ordered.

Brook looked out to the ocean and saw the sunlight reflecting off the water. The sun always shines brightly after a terrible storm… Looking back at Luffy, he couldn't help but feel an immense radiance coming from him. "I will join you all for your festival, then." The resulting smile Luffy gave him was one Brook had not seen in a long time. And he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't a nuisance or a monster in anyone's eyes like he imagined he would be in his reborn state.

* * *

When morning turned to afternoon for Law, who had been so lucky to have his last class cancel, the raven-haired man soon found himself rather bored as he sat around with some of his friends. Bepo was going on and on about some karate class he wanted to take at the activity center, but was too scared to go alone, while Eustass talked to some of the other guys about a band that would be in the city in a few days.

He was uninterested in what they were saying and only added a few comments here and there when he could.

For most of the day, all he could think about was what Smoker was up to. Was he busy busting some other kids for breathing? Or was he being a lazy bum and napping in his office?

All he knew was he wanted to see him. Yet for most of the day, he hadn't seen any of the security that usually patrolled campus like the students were about to all randomly start fighting each other.

Looking up to the clear sky, he sighed and ran his hand through his soft, thick hair.

"Law, what's eating you?" Eustass asked.

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

"Stayed up late last night?!"

"No, can't someone just be tired?"

"Not for no reason." The redhead replied, then fell back onto one of the girls' laps.

Law rolled his eyes, but when they landed on a familiar face, he decided to excuse himself from the group. "Oi, Tashigi." He called when he got close enough for her to hear him.

"What do you need?" said woman replied.

"I was wondering where Smoke-ya is."

"He's busy."

"Doing what?"

"I shouldn't disclose such information to a student. What is it that you need from him? I'm sure I can be an adequate substitute for Smoker-san to you."

"No… Never mind. It's nothing. Just… if you see him, can you tell him I was looking for him?"

"Will do. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got things to tend to. See you around." Tashigi said, and then continued on her way. She was such a devoted young lady.

With a dissatisfied look on his face, Law shook his head to try ridding himself of any thoughts about Smoker. All he really needed was a nap and he knew he would feel better.

* * *

While a nap was what Law thought he needed, it didn't exactly help him at all. In fact, he had dreamt about Smoker and woke up with an uncomfortable stiffness in his pants. And it was after a very long thought process on the matter that he accepted that he was interested in Smoker.

That he  _liked_  him.

But what he couldn't figure out was what it was about him he liked.

Smoker was old, occasionally very lazy, and… well… that was about it.

If he was honest with himself, Smoker wasn't so bad. He had been nice to him and let him stay at his place during the storm. He'd also fed him and lent him his jacket when he was soaked through and through…

Perhaps Smoker wasn't  _that_  old… it was only a ten year difference… That's no big deal for two consenting adults. That is… if Smoker would be consenting about something like that.

"Smoke-ya… I… want to see you..." He murmured as he lay stomach-down on his bed with the light from the sunset coming in through his blinds. He closed his eyes and seriously started to wonder just where his mind had gotten to to be feeling the way he was feeling now.

* * *

Walking silently beside Luffy with the decorations they needed for their stands, Zoro wondered what was wrong with the boy. "Luffy, are you… still upset about not being able to take the Bones guy with us?" he asked.

"Of course I am. He was so cool." Luffy pouted.

"Nami would kick us out if you brought him back. I know you wanted to help him, but sometimes you have to have your own feet properly grounded before you can offer your hand to anyone else."

"You sound like my grandpa…"

"Do I?"

"Yeah."

"Luffy!"

Said boy turned and saw Ace coming his way. It cheered him up quite a bit, "Ace!" he smiled.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"Ace! Where have you been!? Did you get out of the storm okay?! And-"

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down." The freckled-man said with a grin, "If you have to know so bad, I was with this girl I'm seeing. She was so scared of the thunder but it was awesome 'cuz she let me get some, haha." Luffy blushed, and when it was clear he was a bit embarrassed about something, Ace turned his attention to Zoro. "How's it goin' Zoro?"

"It's going I guess." Said man replied calmly..

"Hey, I heard old Shanks yelling about Luffy dating a ruffian a few days ago in his office. Any idea who that is?"

Zoro felt himself growing warm, "N-none…"

"Well, if you do meet him, tell him to treat Luffy like the treasure he is. The eccentric, monkey-like treasure that he is, I mean."

"Sure thing."

"Alriiight." Ace looked at Luffy, "So what's this stuff you got?"

"Oh, these are decorations for the stands we're having at the festival."

"The festival? Why do you have stuff for the festival?"

"Nami's making us help her set up for and manage it."

"Is that so? Well tell Nami I'll help out too, when I can."

"Okay."

Ace ruffled Luffy's already messy hair, "I gotta get going, but I'll see you two around." He said, then with a wave, he headed off to the dormitories.

Zoro watched as Luffy calmed himself down from whatever it was that made him blush earlier and followed him when he headed to Nami's dorm. He couldn't exactly resist how much seeing Luffy flustered got him excited, so when they put the decorations down and got to their room, he closed the door and walked right up behind Luffy.

"Luffy," he breathed into the boy's ear, before running his hands up his warm stomach, "How 'bout we have a little fun?"

"Z-Zoro?"

Before Zoro could say anything more or convince Luffy to have fun with him, there was a knocking at the door.

"Luffy! Zoro!" It was Nami. "I didn't want you to just pick up decorations! Help us set them up! Robin's been doing most of the work!"

Luffy turned and looked up at Zoro, then blushed and stepped out of his embrace. "Coming!" he said.

Zoro rolled his eyes at Nami's cockblocking, but followed when Luffy opened the door and left.

"Come on, there's a shipment of some sort at the harbor that Haredas-san ordered. We need to move them to the activity center's storeroom until we're ready for them." The orange-haired girl said. "If we can get Franky to help, that would be great! Zoro, you go find him!"

"Why me?"

"Because I said so, now get going! I'm already behind schedule! C'mon, Luffy. We're going to help Vivi and the others set up the booths." Nami said as she headed out the front door.

With a nod, Luffy looked over his shoulder at Zoro and waved to him. "I'll see you when you in a few." He said, then picked up the beach decorations the two of them had gathered and followed Nami.

Zoro put his hands into his pockets and left shortly after, wishing he could've been with Luffy for a little longer.


	17. Unveiling

Notably more uninterested than he usually seemed, as told to him by a few passing students, Zoro made his way back from visiting Franky. The overly emotional cyborg insisted that he stay away from the construction site when he saw him heading that way, as he had been on a lunch break. Unexpectedly, Zoro wound up eating with Franky and managed to get him to agree to help set up at the festival. Though, Franky told him he would be putting some finishing touches on his present to Luffy soon.

"Wonder what it was that he didn't want me to see. What kind of construction is he doing that it has to be so under wraps?" the marimo asked aloud as he strolled back to the center of campus, where Nami had the others working on their booths.

At least now that he was going back he could be around the others some more, but he especially wanted to be with Luffy.

With center campus a ways away, since where Franky had been building was at least two blocks away from the university and located on a cliff, he tried picking up his pace a bit. The quicker he got back, the quicker he could maybe sneak off with his favorite gum-boy and have some fun with him… of whatever variety they could think up.

The sidewalks seemed to stretch for miles ahead of him, even though the entire walk back would cover all of five minutes. "I can't believe I want to be around Luffy so much…" he thought. Thinking back, when they first met, Luffy was one of the people he wanted to avoid most of all. Now he had an unyielding loyalty to him and considered him a very precious friend. Of course, he thought of the others that way, even Curly Brow, but Luffy… Luffy was just on another level.

Just as he got back on campus, a ghost flew up to him and stood in his way: one of Perona's whimsical ghosts.

He tried going around it, but it went in the same direction he did. When he tried to go the other way, it blocked him again. Then when he turned around and decided on taking a scenic route, it started flying around him in circles.

The vein on his forehead appeared and he exploded at it, "What do you want?! Go away!"

The ghost stuck its tongue out at him, making him take hold of the sword at his waist.

"You know better than anyone that won't work on my ghosts." Perona's voice came out of nowhere.

Zoro turned and looked around, then jumped when the ghost princess pushed him from behind. "Perona?" he spoke almost too quietly. He hadn't had the time to properly talk to her since that day she wanted him to kiss Luffy in front of her. Luffy had insisted she have some time to herself, and he figured she had enough by now.

"I've had some time to be away from you, and I really have come to the conclusion that you and me never would have worked out anyway. You're too boring for me." The pink-haired girl said, and then folded her arms.

"Perona… I… Can we talk?"

"About what?"

Zoro released his sword and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Things…"

Stomping her foot, Perona pulled out her black umbrella and opened it to protect herself from the sun, "Why should I waste any more time on listening to what you have to say?"

"Because we're friends."

"Uh? I- We- J-jerk! UGH! Why do  _I_  feel guilty now?!"

Zoro motioned for Perona to follow him, and then headed off to some empty benches in the center of the student union.

"I am sorry that I lied to you. Well… more or less since it was originally Usopp's lie." The marimo began as he took a seat.

Perona closed her eyes and turned as if she was uninterested in what she'd just heard.

"But… you should know… I really do like Luffy. I didn't want to admit it at first, but he's just… he's someone I need in my life. I know you and I dated, but we were nothing more than friends and I think we both realized that. You just didn't want to accept it."

"Did you want to talk to me just to start berating me?"

"N-no! I… I wanted to apologize for not being honest with you from the start. But also, I want to tell you that I was being somewhat honest when I told you how I felt about Luffy. He is fun to be around, even if he can be childish most of the time, and I do think he's… you know… ah… cute." Zoro blushed a bit and had to avoid looking at Perona, who was staring at him like he was a madman. "I guess I should also thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have started seeing truth in the things I said about Luffy when I talked about him to you."

"Well if I'm honest…I've been… somewhat insensitive to what you've been going through. Clearly you're struggling with your sexuality, I mean, you ditched me for a boy who looks like a thirteen year-old monkey-human hybrid looking boy… But if there's one thing I do know it's that guys like you are hard to find. You're boring, so incredibly boring, like more boring than I can begin to describe without need of caffeine to keep me awake through the night as I told you about how boring you are, but despite that, you're a very good person. Genuine and very benevolent. So maybe that's why I tried holding on to you the way I did. But if I can't make you happy, I guess it isn't fair to try forcing you to stay when there's an idiot out there who can."

Zoro was shocked, which was to be expected. Perona wasn't usually very keen at considering others' emotions. And it was rare that she thought of anyone besides herself. "Perona-"

"Shush. If that kid makes you happy, then go spend time with him. I can't hold a grudge against someone just because they aren't happy dating me. I guess that's just my wake-up call that I need to work on myself, although I can't do much to change the perfection that is me. I suppose I'll just have to wait until I find someone who worships me for me, because that obviously was never going to be something you were going to do."

With a smile, Zoro stood up and pulled Perona into a hug, "Thanks…" he said.

"UGH! You  _stink_  and you're crushing me...!" The girl replied, putting her hands up and using them to push at Zoro so he would release her.

"Oh, right. You're different from Luffy…" Zoro said as he let her go, "He's rubber which means he isn't as delicate as-"

"Stop talking unless you want my ghosts to make a permanent residence inside your body for the rest of your life!" Perona interrupted while squinting. "I heard this festival you're helping out with is supposed to be starting tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Well, I may just stop by and see what you and your friends are capable of doing."

"You know it's all across campus, right? You'll have to see it wherever you go."

"What? There are no decorations up anywhere."

"We've got someone working on that. She'll be able to do it in no time."

Perona turned and started walking away. "Hopefully it'll be good." She said expectantly without looking back.

Zoro watched her go, realizing that she was one person who would never change. Even when she was being sincere, she would always be that princess who wanted things her way. Still… what she had told him was quite unexpected from her, and he was glad to see she was still willing to be friendly with him.

With a small grin on his face, he continued on his way back to center campus to meet up with the others.

* * *

"Traffy! What are you doing here?!" Luffy shouted with excitement from atop a booth that he was decorating when he saw Law coming his way.

Running his hand through his already ruffled black hair, Law looked around at the many booths for a moment. It was the first time he had seen them, not to mention it was the first time he'd seen all the colorful misfits Luffy seemed to hang around in one place. "I'm just passing by…" he replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hey, Mugiwara…"

"Huh?" Luffy asked, jumping down so he could stand in front of his friend.

Law tried hiding his embarrassment, "Have you seen Smoke-ya?"

A look of confusion found its way to Luffy's face. "Smoke-ya?" he repeated, trying to figure out who that was.

Cheeks warming up a little, Law looked around and pretended to be looking through some of the students walking around to try hiding his slight blush, "Captain Smoker."

"Oh! Smokey! No, I haven't seen him around in a while." Luffy said.

"Luffy, how come you know him by that nickname, but you couldn't tell who it was from mine?"

"Where'd that 'ya' come from?"

"…Never mind." Law gave up and turned to leave. Before he could, Luffy ran in front of him.

"Stay and help me out, please!"

"What?"

"This is tough work and Zoro still isn't back… Robin is doing so much with her power and I told her I could handle this… but I need someone to go check on the equipment in the storerooms."

"…"

"Please help me out! This is for the students, you know!"

Law sighed heavily, "Fine, I'll help."

"Alright! All I need is for you to go down to the docks and find warehouse number three. There are some shipments coming in to that one for more booth equipment and prizes. If you could go check on them and sign off on them, then that would be enough."

"That's all I have to do?"

"Well, if you want to come back and help set up, that'd be amazing of you." Luffy grinned.

"I'll see what I can do." Law said, and then turned and started for the school warehouses.

"Make sure you tell Nami, the girl with orange hair, when you're finished!"

"Right."

* * *

With a pair of large sunglasses to hide himself from Tashigi and the other security guards, Smoker walked about campus checking on the progress of the set up for the festival and also making sure no students were acting out of conduct because the festival was tomorrow. The reason he'd taken to incognito status was due to Tashigi. She insisted that he was overexerting himself and had been for a while now, so she put in a mandatory vacation on his behalf to the university. It was certainly undermining, but she meant well, so he did not complain or hold it against her. However, it was his job to make sure everything went well on campus. If one thing went wrong, the blame would be his responsibility, which is why he never wanted to put too much work on Tashigi's shoulders or the shoulders of his other men.

To his surprise, everything seemed to be going well. That Monkey D. Luffy kid and his friends were doing a good job at setting up decorations all over campus, and the students were all acting according to the university standards.

"Wasn't there supposed to be some shipment coming for the festival…?" he asked himself as he walked down the sidewalk.

If that were true, even if there were guards posted, he figured he should check on it himself to make sure no funny business went on. Something like that seemed like a perfect way for bad eggs to smuggle things onto campus.

When he saw some of his men coming his way, he quickly ducked off into the library to avoid being caught. Even if he thought his sunglasses did a good job of hiding his appearance, he didn't want to risk it. If this festival was going to happen and he couldn't technically work during it, then he would just oversee it from the shadows.

He liked that idea.

A savior from the shadows…

It had a nice ring to it.

When he finally stopped and looked around, he realized that he was on the first floor lobby of the library. It was where he had decided to take Trafalgar Law home with him during the storm. The poor kid had been soaked and seemed so cold that he just had to take care of him.

Oddly enough, he found himself wondering what the kid was up to right now. If he was honest with himself, he'd been thinking about him a lot lately. Law seemed like a troublemaker, but a troublemaker who stayed out of trouble… if that made sense. So it was no surprise that he hadn't seen him in the police department since the time he took him, Roronoa, and Monkey D. Luffy in for holding.

Shaking the thought of all three of those brats from his mind, Smoker remembered that he had a job to do. It wasn't going to get done if he just stood around thinking of three kids who were probably doing foolish things at the very moment.

* * *

Seeing Robin coming his way as he was headed to join Luffy to help him set up, Zoro seriously asked himself if he should try getting around her without talking or not. Everything today seemed to be pulling him further and further away from what he wanted the most: to be with Luffy.

"Hello Zoro." Robin said with a smile as they reached each other.

"Hey." Zoro replied. "Have you seen Luffy around?"

"Yes. He's doing some work near Kingsland Hall. I think he had Trafalgar go and take care of something, though. He's managing fine on his own."

"…Oh… Well, I was supposed to be helping out too. I got Franky to come as well."

"That's good."

"So, I guess I'll go and see if he needs me." Zoro said, then made to get around Robin.

"Wait, before you do." Robin said as an arm came out of her shoulder and grabbed Zoro by the arm.

He knew it. He just knew it. Everything and everyone today was just going to keep him preoccupied. "What wrong?" he asked, trying not to seem rude. It was Robin, after all. There were certain friends he had, like her, Chopper, and Vivi, that he just couldn't be mean to no matter what.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." The raven-haired woman replied, and then motioned for them to go take a seat on the benches near the union.

…

"Luffy? What makes you… want to talk about him?" Zoro almost blushed. He kept himself composed, though. Robin seemed like the observant type who would pick upon subtle things.

" _You_  make me want to talk about him." Robin said with complete seriousness.

"…Huh? Why me?"

"Because I know what's been going on between the two of you."

"What?!" Zoro asked hurriedly, and then swallowed his saliva nervously.

"You've become good friends in keeping up your lie to the Ghost Princess, right? Even when the lie came out as such, you two still stayed friends." Robin spoke, and then gave a warm smile.

Sweat ran down Zoro's brow and he inwardly thanked his lucky stars that that's what she meant. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Also, the two of you have been fooling around together." Robin came out and said as if it was less important than what she previously said.

"Gah! What?! What are you talking about?!"

"Each night you stayed in the extra room in our dorm I was able to tell what was going on because I stayed up late reading, and when I passed the room I could tell neither of you was sleeping. Plus, the night I ran into you in the hallway, your face gave you away."

"Oh…" Zoro tried seeming calm and collected, but on the inside he was anything but. Robin had him caught and cornered.

"I haven't said anything to anyone, and honestly I don't plan to. But there is something I want to know."

"…What…?"

"Are you two in a relationship?"

"A relationship?" Zoro echoed, looking at the woman with a confused expression on his face.

"Yes."

"N-no. We're not. I told him a long time ago that I wasn't interested in dating anyone. Especially not a guy… I have my grades to worry about. If they drop below a certain gpa, then I'll be kicked off campus and have nowhere to stay. There's a lot I have to consider before I can just start dating anyone."

"Oh, but I don't think that's true."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because you are practically dating Luffy now." Robin replied. The resulting confused look Zoro gave her was to be expected. "Think about it. You two spend time together almost routinely now, you have physical relations  _whenever_  possible, the two of you get along quite well, and even now you're thinking of being with him instead of here with me, aren't you?"

"I… No… that's…"

"There's no need to lie, Zoro. I could tell you wanted to get to him the second as I saw you coming my way a few minutes ago."

Zoro didn't know what to say. Robin had him utterly beat and unable to deny anything.

"As for your gpa-based housing… will that be a constant issue since you're likely to move out of housing soon? Whatever it is Franky is building, I doubt he's doing it solely for Luffy. I agree that grades are important and commend you for being so dedicated, but if that's the only thing you focus on and use them as an excuse to avoid dating because you're not sure you're datable, then you're only hurting yourself. If you can make time for going to the activity center, your classes, and even the new job you'll be starting soon, then is there really no time you can make for the person who makes you happy?"

"Robin…"

"You should tell Luffy how you feel. And by that, I mean how you  _really_  feel. You  _have_  feelings for him, yet you don't want him to know about them. In fact, I think you've blocked it out so much with the idea that you want to stay single that even  _you_  don't realize you do have feelings for him. But it's clear when you look at it objectively the way that I have. I've observed your interactions with him, and even the two of you when you're apart, and have come to the conclusion that you do truly care about him and he makes you content. Overall, you seem like a generally happier person with him at your side. You shouldn't push those feelings away now that you've been confronted with them. Embrace them and let yourself be vulnerable to him. He won't hurt you and you know it."

"Luffy… he… I… I know he wouldn't… But-"

"Actually, by physically drawing him in but at the same time emotionally pushing him away, I believe  _you're_  the one hurting  _him_." Robin said, and then stood up from the bench and brushed her dress off. "If I had to give you an appropriate time, the festival is the perfect time to let him know how you feel. Don't squander a second that you could have being loved and loving someone because you're afraid, or you may wind up regretting it." She finished with a gentle smile. Before Zoro could try coming up with a response, she was on her way back to where Nami, Chopper, and Vivi were.

Left alone on the bench with nothing but the day itself to accompany him, Zoro realized he had some serious thinking to do.

* * *

Looking the to do list over to make sure things were going as planned, Nami also walked around the center of campus where all the booths were set up. Sanji was in the middle of packaging some food to put in the teacher's lounge refrigerator for tomorrow. He'd been doing a great amount of work and she was very thankful to have him so wrapped around her finger. Usopp and Chopper were finishing up with the decorations, which looked quite nice sprawled about campus. The buildings had nice banners and streamers crisscrossing between each one. It really did look like professionals had done this work. Of course, Robin helped them with her Hana Hana power. She couldn't form arms ON the buildings, but the grounds around them did not contain Sea Prism Stone, so she had just formed giant hands to help out. Vivi was busy in the police department now making sure security would be okay for tomorrow. She was also tasked with making sure word spread that the festival started tomorrow at noon. Franky was at the construction site, so she didn't actually assign him anything to do. If he came and helped, that would be great, but everything was mostly done now. All that was left was… Luffy and Zoro.

"Those two... I _guess_ the booths look okay. And we have a good amount of prizes here already, so even if they don't get the shipment when it comes I guess we'll deal with it tomorrow. Zoro hasn't been around for a few hours though… I should've figured he'd slack off…" the girl said as she marked things off her list. "If this goes well, Haredas-san will have no choice but to give me those bonus points!" she squealed. It wasn't like she needed them, but they could come in handy if she needed them. Plus, why get an A in a class when she could get a SUPER A? "Good grief… that childish Franky has gotten to me…"

"Namiiiiiiiii!"

Turning around, Nami saw Luffy coming her way. "Luffy? Did you finish your work?"

"I'm still putting some booths together near East campus. But anyway, have you seen Zoro?"

"No, but I assume he's taking a nap somewhere."

"Have more faith in him!"

"What do you want? I'm busy at the moment."

"I was just looking for him. Also, I guess I should tell you that there's someone coming to the festival tomorrow who isn't a student."

"That's fine. A lot of people from town are coming as well. There's a fireworks display off near the beach, so it's okay for them to come and join us."

"Great!"

"OOOOOIIIIIII! EVERYONE!"

Usopp pulled one of his goggles down over his eye to see who it was running with a massive cloud of dust behind them. "Hey, it's Franky!"

"Franky? Shouldn't he be at the construction site?" Robin asked as she came up beside Nami.

"Yes, I was thinking he wouldn't be coming onto campus for a while." The shorter girl answered.

"Is that Zoro?" Luffy asked with a smile.

Franky was coming their way, barefooted and wearing nothing but a shirt and a Speedo like he normally did, and Zoro wasn't far behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Nami asked.

"It's time to unveil the SUPEEEER present!" Franky said with a big smile.

* * *

With his arms folded and a bored look on his face as he stood on the docks, Law started wondering if there was a shipment coming or if this was just a silly ruse on Luffy's part.

The evening was quite nice, even if it was too quiet… The sun was about to set, making the sky look quite colorful. Normally, he didn't pay much attention to these kinds of things. If nothing else, he was glad that Luffy had him come here. Lately, he'd been somewhat stressed. Doflamingo's pursuit of him was still a very big problem in his life. Smoker was also something he found to be a growing challenge. He wanted to see him, but never could. Going out of his way to visit the police department on occasion didn't even allow him to find the man.

It was then he realized that the closer he stuck to the police department, the better protected he'd be if Doflamingo ever actually came after him instead of just sending people to look for him. It was easy to deal with those people because all he had to do was steal their hearts and return it in exchange for them leaving him alone. What Doflamingo did with those people, he did not know.

Taking a seat on the ground, he sighed. Just as he did, he saw a ship rapidly approaching. "That must be it." He mumbled.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Eyes going wide at the sound of that familiar voice, Law whipped around. "You!"

"Don't you think it's time you faced your former boss? He's been looking for you." A tall man with dark, closed shaven hair said. There was a piece of steak stuck to his face on the left side.

"V-Vergo!" Law said. Before he could even react, he saw Vergo disappear and also felt something slam against the back of his head. Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw Vergo standing over him.

"Joker wanted me to bring you to him in one piece, but he never said I couldn't punish you first." Vergo said, then reached down and grabbed Law up by his shirt. After harshly punching him repeatedly in the face, he tossed him into the air and then jumped up to kick him, sending the man soaring right into one of the school's warehouses. "Pitiful. Why he ever wanted to have a punching bag like you working for him in the first place baffles me…" Vergo continued as he made his way over to where he'd kicked Law to.

Law struggled incredibly, but managed to sit up, coughing out a large amount of blood once he did. When he tried standing, it proved to be a futile attempt and he fell back against the warehouse with a thud. All he could do was lift his arm to try using his Room ability. "Roo-"

Before he could finish, Vergo was upon him and slammed his dense fist across Law's face before lifting him off the ground with both his hands tightly gripping either side of the boy's head. "I guess it's about time to take you-"

Quickly, Law extended both of his arms and held his thumbs up, "COUNTER SHOCK!" he shouted, then let a wave of electricity envelop Vergo's body.

"…I think the ride back to Dressrossa will be a very interesting one. If Joker recognizes your face when  _I'm_  done with you, I'd be surprised." Vergo said, then exhaled heavily. "Picking you up has been quite the chore and I… don't…" When he noticed something, Vergo let his sentence trail off and dropped Law on the ground. He turned around and squinted behind his sunglasses. "White Hunter Smoker!"

Smoker looked past Vergo and saw Law lying on the ground with blood all over his face and shirt, "…I can't forgive you for this. Don't worry, though. I'll end this quickly. Vergo!"

* * *

"ARE YOU ALL READY FOR THIS SUUUUUPEEEEEER SURPRISE!?" Franky shouted as he stood in front of a large, blanketed… whatever it was he had built.

"Yes!" Chopper replied eagerly.

"Unveil it!" Usopp added.

Everyone seemed quite excited and anxious as well, even Nami. Franky had spent a lot of time on this, and he was supposedly an amazing construction worker, so whatever that giant thing was beneath that blanket had to be out of this world spectacular.

Luffy smiled at Franky, who walked over to the blanket and pulled it off of the present.

"A-A SHIP?!" Almost everyone said in unison.


	18. Night Before

 

With an accomplished smile on his face, Franky folded the covering that was just on the ship, then turned and looked at everyone. "If you're feeling good about this SUPERR ship just by looking at the outside, then wait 'til you see the inside!" he declared.

"Franky, why did you make  _a ship_?!" Nami asked.

"Yes, it is very strange that you would build this instead of an actual building." Robin added, raising her hand up to her chin in contemplation as to why he would make this… exuberantly-colored sailing ship.

Franky raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, 'why'? This is what Luffy-"

"IT! IS! AWESOOOME!" Luffy beamed with stars in his eyes that showed just how in love with it he was. After rearing his arm back, he eagerly sent it forward and grabbed hold of the mast to pull himself onto the ship.

"I like it too! It's so bright and amazing!" Chopper said as he ran up the stairs and boarded the ship as well.

"Luffy asked you to make this, didn't he?" Sanji asked Franky after Usopp followed Luffy and Chopper on board.

"In a way, yes. He told me to build whatever it was I was best at building, so I constructed this ship." Franky replied. It was true. Building ships and weapons were his specialty.

Nami, Vivi, and Zoro were next to make their way onto the large ship.

Zoro split off from everyone, though, in search of Luffy. Not to mention he wanted to see what the ship was actually like on the inside.

And to his surprise, it was something indeed. The moment he walked into the kitchen, he was almost glad to see it was incredibly spacious. Eyebrow could stay in here permanently if he wanted to, not that Zoro would object to that in the least.

Next up was the library. This must've been a present for someone else because everyone knew Luffy didn't like to read. The circular room was lined from top to bottom with books, the only place having a break was where a large, aquarium was. If anyone spent time here, it would probably be Robin, if she ever decided to visit.

Still, even for Zoro, the room was crowded with so many books that it felt a bit unnerving. So he made his way elsewhere. And the next place he found himself was in the observation room atop the main mast. It was nice and spacious, had a view of the entire campus, and was secluded, quiet even. If he spent his time anywhere on this ship, he knew it would probably be here.

When he walked over to the window and looked at the grass deck below, he saw Luffy and Usopp walking and looking around in awe.

Some part of him wanted to be the one with Luffy, but another part of him held him steady in place. If he spent time around Luffy now when he was so adventurous, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist himself from exploring the treasure that was his body.

Upon entering the lower deck, where smaller transport vehicles were stationed in multiple different holds, he wondered just what it was Franky built this  _ship_  for. It seemed like it was meant to go somewhere, as strange as that sounded.

"Swordsman." Robin's voice called, making him turn to find her.

However, she was not there.

When he felt something poke his shoulder from behind, he whipped around. "R-Robin…? What are you doing?"

Robin smiled, "Just teasing you."

"I don't like being teased."

"That's understandable. Neither do I."

"What is it?"

"I meant to ask you something." She said. Neither she nor Zoro noticed that Chopper was coincidentally wandering around the lower deck as well.

"Ask me what?"

"Have you decided to talk to Luffy?"

"… Kind of…"

"When did you plan to do it?"

"Tonight."

"I think… you should wait."

"Wait? But it was your idea to tell him!"

"I know, that's true. But listen. Don't you think it would be better to tell him tomorrow?"

"Why? What's so special about tomorrow that I can't do it today?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The festival. Don't you think it would be something both you and he could enjoy and remember about your relationship? If you talk to him now, it wouldn't be as special as, say, after winning him a prize or trying the tropical drinks Sanji prepared in a celebratory mood. This is from a woman's perspective—we're keen about these things. You don't have to wait, but it would make for a more memorable experience for the both of you if you did."

"…" without words, Zoro stuck his hands into his pockets and headed back up to the main deck, "Don't tell anyone anything." He told Robin before he left her alone in the lower deck.

Shaking her head at the cautious marimo, Robin smiled and went to the upper deck as well.

* * *

"You know, you had absolutely nothing to do with this." The brick wall-like man, Vergo, said as he stared at Smoker.

The two of them had exchanged the first few blows in their fight, and he was already expecting to be able to take the White Hunter down.

Smoker returned his stare, having ridden himself of his sunglasses that were supposed to be his disguise, as coldly and contemptuously as he could. Seeing Law lying there on the ground in front of the warehouse, unable to stand and probably having trouble seeing, made him angrier than he realized. And that was a scary thing considering him. Smoker was not the type to get overly emotional. Normally, he was able to keep a level head.

And this shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did. Trafalgar Law was little more than a trouble-making student that he'd only tried showing some kindness to. He didn't know what it was, but the thought of him being so hurt at the hands of this Vergo person really ate away at him.

Quickly, as he wanted to get Law to the infirmary, he transformed his legs into smoke and flew at Vergo.

Stepping away from the jute coming his way, Vergo solidified his hand. When he saw Smoker's face appear within the smoke, he threw a punch at him.

"I don't have time to play around with you." Smoker's voice came out from a wave of smoke as it surrounded the tall man.

"That's good because I wasn't in the mood to play. That's why I took down Trafalgar so quickly."

"Smoker-san! What's going on!?"

Law, Smoker, and even Vergo turned their attention at the sound of Tashigi's voice coming from the direction of the school campus.

"Now!" Smoker shouted, and then shot his arms into the air.

Vergo looked up when he heard it, but even with his sunglasses, the sun's light, which Smoker's arms used as a shield, was too bright for him to tell what kind of attack was coming his way.

Law started standing, struggling to do so, but managed to get on his feet and lean on the warehouse. When he looked out to where Smoker and Vergo were fighting, he was surprised to see that Smoker had Vergo bruised and detained on the ground.

"What is this?! Who is that?!" Tashigi shouted as she made it into the receding smokescreen.

"Tashigi…"

"Oh! That's… Trafalgar Law!" the navy-haired girl declared when she noticed him stumbling their way, and hurried over to him.

Law felt a sharp pain in his side and fell forward, but instead of hitting the ground, he was surprised to feel an arm grab him and support his frame.

Smoker flew over to the smaller man and reattached his body to his arm, then helped Law walk over to where Vergo was lying. "You better have a good explanation for this." He almost scolded.

"Who is this man?" Tashigi asked as she forced Vergo on his feet. There were bruises all over his body, as was the case with her captain and Trafalgar.

Law decided to answer her, "He's-"

"We'll deal with all of that later. Tashigi, please, take Law to the infirmary." Smoker interrupted.

"R-right! Come this way, Trafalgar. Smoker-san, I'll deal with  _you_  later!"

After being forced from Smoker's larger frame to Tashigi's smaller one, Law looked over his shoulder at the silver-haired man. There were no words between them, just a simple gaze. That's all. Law turned away, a bit ashamed to have needed to be helped by Smoker… again.

"Trafalgar, I think you know you'll have to answer some questions about this later." Tashigi said.

Without a word of reply, Law let her guide him to the infirmary.

* * *

"Phew!" Usopp breathed out exhaustedly as he dropped the last box onto the deck of the ship Franky had built for them. The evening stars were beginning to appear one by one, making the sunset-colored, cloud-filled sky even more entrancing as it cast itself over everyone.

Robin smiled as she walked up the stairs and patted him on the back, "Are you alright?" she asked.

After taking more heavy breaths, Usopp raised his thumb at her, "Yeah, thanks to you! We'd have been moving boxes across campus all day if it wasn't for your ability!" he nearly rejoiced in his exhaustion.

"It was not problem. Though, I don't know that dropping boxes from the balcony of the dorm so I could catch them was a good idea… Are you sure nothing was broken?"

"We had to since you couldn't generate arms indoors."

"Yes, this Sea-Prism Stone-walled campus is quite the inconvenience for those who don't want to do anything reckless." The woman said.

"So, will you and the girls be moving in as well?"

Robin's bright eyes went wide with surprise at such a suggestion. "Huh? That's not really up to-"

"Oi! Robin!" Luffy called as he sling-shot himself on board the ship.

"Yes?" said woman answered as the gum-boy came up to her.

"I already decided Nami was staying in the extra room we have! You and Vivi will, too!"

"Luffy-"

"It's not a problem, is it?" Nami asked innocently as she came on board the ship with some clothes draped carefully over her slender arms. "I figured this would be an improvement from our tiny room… There's more space, you can grow a big garden like you've been wanting, and best of all, we're right off campus grounds, so no Sea-Prism Stone walls and we can drink as much as we want!" she continued blissfully.

"Well…"

"And Luffy! Don't act like it was just your decision for us to stay here! We mutually decided that!" Nami almost hissed at him as she went on into the ship with her clothes.

Robin gave in with a warm smile. "I guess it's been decided for me."

"Sanji-kun!" Nami's voice rang from inside, "I'd actually like to help you cook dinner tonight!"

"OKAAAAY NAMI-SWAAAN!" Sanji's enamored voice replied from the kitchen.

"Stupid cook…" Zoro mumbled as he boarded the ship.

"It looks like everyone's here!" Luffy beamed, noting where everyone was. "But…"

"But what?" Usopp asked.

"…Nothing…"

Knowing what it was Luffy was thinking about, Zoro walked over to him and consolingly touched his shoulder, "Tomorrow. We'll see him tomorrow right?"

"Y-yeah!" Luffy smiled.

"We wouldn't even begin to know where to find him tonight. So don't worry about it for now."

"Are you talking about Trafalgar?" Robin asked.

"No. Don't worry about it." Luffy replied with a smile.

"Robiiiiin!" Nami called from the threshold of the ship's inner halls.

"Yes?"

"I'm about to take a bath, and I let Vivi know that she should as well. Just a heads up! Take it before these boys do because they'll probably use up all the hot water!"

"Alright, thank you." Robin replied as she made her way towards Nami.

Usopp stood up and brushed his dusted and dirty pants off, "These need washing… And I need to find Chopper to let him look at a bruise I got moving stuff around. I'll see you two at dinner." He finished, then waved as he hurried inside.

Left alone standing side by side on the grass, Zoro and Luffy both looked up at the sky.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Zoro asked, breaking the enchanting silence only the night could give.

"Yeah and no. Nami's going to work me like a mule, I know it." The gum-boy answered.

"Heh, I think you might have a good time at the festival. I plan to."

"Maybe I can sneak off and eat as much as I want!"

"That's an idea. I won't be sober for too long tomorrow, that's for sure."

Luffy started walking towards the door that led inside, "I'm just hoping they have lots of meat ready to dish out! Sanji!" he called, "Is dinner ready?! I'm starving!"

Zoro followed Luffy into the ship, hoping it was. He was quite hungry as well.

* * *

Dark eyes slowly opened as Law came to. He awoke to a room he wasn't all too familiar with. He was lying placidly in a bed, there was a chart on a bedside table beside him, and there was a curtain running the length of the right side of his bed. To his left, a window sat open, letting in the cool night's breeze. And the moonlight flooded in as well from its hanging position in the wondrous night sky.

"Shit…" he complained as he tried sitting up to no real avail. His sides ached, his face ached, and his pride ached. Having been saved by Smoker… Sure, he was willing to admit his interest, but never did he wish to feel so insignificant in the older man's shadow.

"Are you awake?"

"Tashigi… Smoke-ya's lapdog…" he muttered, earning himself a snippy response.

"I am  _not_!" Tashigi denied as she came from around the curtain and stood in the moonlight. "You've got some questions to answer, and I want them answered now before the festival begins tomorrow. If we have the slightest chance of preventing a crime from happening while the school has a celebration underway, that'd make for the best possible outcome."

"I've nothing to say." Law dismissed flatly, then closed his eyes so he wouldn't be hounded by the girl's prying eyes.

"You  _do_ , and you will talk! Smoker-san is so close to getting this campus clean like it's supposed to be! You can't hinder his efforts by staying silent when you're clearly involved!"

There was a silence. Law had nothing to tell her, and that was that. "I'm not in a condition where I can argue with you. Call it quits for the night."

"Absolutely not! I'm not going until you-"

"Tashigi."

Said girl's eyes flipped to the door where Smoker was standing, "Smoker-san! I didn't realize you were there…"

"I'm much harder to detect than you give me credit for." Smoker replied, smoke escaping his mouth with every word he said thanks to his thick cigars.

"Listen, I'll handle this. You need to rest. You've been working yourself into exhaustion lately… and the festival will probably help you relax." Tashigi offered, showing her genuine compassion for the man.

"No, you go take it easy. I'll handle him." Smoker said, stepping aside so Tashigi could take her leave.

"But-"

"I'll get more out of him than you will. You go rest for the night."

With a defeated nod, Tashigi made her way through the room and stopped at the door in front of Smoker, "Don't push yourself. If you need help, that's why you hired myself and the other members of G5. Call us and we'll come running." She said, and then left the room.

Law laid quietly, but watched as Smoker closed the door and came his way.

"I swear that girl treats me like I'm retired and in the way." He joked, not meaning for it to be funny as much as he wanted to just call attention to it. "I'm the head of security around this place for a reason."

"Smoke-ya…"

"Don't you do it too."

"…Thank you for helping me." Law came out and said, avoiding looking at the large man who was now standing where Tashigi had been.

"Can we talk about this?"

"There's not much to say."

"Well, I'll listen to the little you  _do_  have to say then." Smoker said, taking a seat on the bed to get comfortable beside Law.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm a criminal? That I broke the university rules? That I'm just as rotten as you first thought I was? Huh?"

"Trafalgar, just tell me the truth. That's all I'm asking of you."

"Truth?" Law scoffed, closing his eyes, "You don't want my truth."

"Listen, kid. I've been in this business a long time. I've heard it all. Nothing you can tell me would shock me." Smoker said, trying to coax Law into submission, "And if you provide tips that will help us crack down on this drug smuggling that's been going on lately-"

"I'm not a rat." Law said, now looking dead at Smoker.

"So you  _do_  know something?"

"…"

"Trafalgar-"

"Smoker… I…" Law stammered, "I like you." he tried, closing his eyes from the feeling of saying such a thing.

"Nice try." Said man grunted, puffing out the last of his cigar smoke and pulling the butts from his mouth. "I want to know about Doflamingo. Tell me about him."

Realizing he was getting nowhere, Law sighed and gave in to Smoker. He was tired of running, tired of hiding, just… tired. "He was my boss years back." He began, unsure of whether this was the right person to be telling this to, "I got him contacts for the drug he was producing. He admired how useful I was to him. Heck, the only reason I got involved with him was because of my brother… But still, it was work, it paid, everyone needs money, but not everyone fits into the norm of getting a damned minimum wage job… let alone dealing with the shit that comes with that… So I got into the drug business. Even did some of the stuff myself until I realized it was turning my life to shit. And that's when I wanted…"

"Wanted?"

"Change. I wanted to get clean, but still, I knew what the drugs were doing to the people I was selling them to because I experienced it firsthand. And so the moment Joker got his possie up, I quit. Backed out easily, thought I could just live a normal life. Hell, I even considered getting a regular job. It hasn't been easy… I made that decision two years ago. And then last year, I decided to go to college. Change my life, give myself a future using the skills I know I have. Without certification, I'd wind up using my Devil Fruit powers under the table, and would likely find myself in a similar situation where I was with Joker. So that's why I'm here. That's why you've been hounding me, suspecting me of things I gave up a long time ago… Right now, I'm just trying to stay alive…" Law spoke, his usual control over his emotions fleeting a bit. His eyes were watering and threatening to spill over. But he told himself a long time ago that tears were not going to solve anything. Actions would. Which was also why he took this chance with Smoker. Perhaps  _he_  was his answer…

Smoker did not face Law. He didn't say anything right away. All he did was sit there, under the moonlight, contemplating all that he'd heard. Law was, simply put, a victim. Sure, it seemed he made bad choices, but he was trying now, wasn't he? Trying to change and have a fresh beginning. And Smoker admired that. It's easy to talk about starting again, but not many can do it. And here Law was, chained by his connection to Doflamingo, who would probably hunt him down until one of them wound up in the ground. "Trafalgar." He said.

"What?"

"Where is Doflamingo?"

"I don't know, and I do  _not_  care. But if you are searching for him, he proclaims himself as the king of Dressrosa. Have your government buddies check that place out." Law replied, feeling a burden leave his small shoulders. And it was enough to make him sit up through the aches and pain and lean on Smoker for support. "Smoke-ya…"

"Lay down and rest."

"…Are you going to leave me here?"

"Yeah. You're better off in the infirmary than with me at the moment. I've got a lot of things to do before tomorrow, like documenting this information and getting more of my 'hounds' on the case."

"…"

"I'll be back in a bit. Thank you for your cooperation." Smoker said as he stood up off the bed, making sure Law didn't fall over as he did. He turned, and, without looking back, started towards the door.

Law looked down at the sheets regretfully, "I'm sorry for lying to you before…"

"It's okay." Smoker said, knowing what it was Law was referring to and leaving the room with the door closing behind him.

* * *

It was much later at night now, near eleven. All the unpacking of the boxes brought on board the ship was done, everyone having picked their rooms in which they'd be sleeping in the hereafter. To everyone's surprise, Nami, Vivi, and Robin shared a room, using a total of three mattresses to compose one large one that looked like they'd be sleeping on a cloud.

Franky waited the boys out at the stairs leading to the ship until they'd all picked their sleeping arrangements, leaning against the ship he was proud to call his crowning achievement.

The girls were all sitting around a campfire on the deck in the grass, laughing and joking with each other.

"Oi, Franky!" Luffy called as he came out from the red-white-threshold, "Why are you just hanging around? Pick a place to sleep!"

"Sleep?" Franky raised an eyebrow, showing his confusion.

"Yeah! You're staying here, right?"

"I hadn't planned on it."

"But what if something happens!" Usopp declared, "We'd need you to take care of this ship as best you can!"

"You could always give me a call-"

"No, you're staying here!" Luffy said, stretching his arms out to pull Franky off his feet, and then snatching his speedo off his body. "Thanks for this ship! I really appreciate it! But…"

Franky's brows furrowed.

"To get these treasured pants back, you'll have to stay here with us!"

"You wicked kid!"

"Shishishi!"

Zoro found himself a place on the stairs leading to the upper deck and smiled. Luffy's antics would always get his attention. He watched as Franky gave in to Luffy, saying he would stay here with them despite not having any reason to since he wasn't in school.

There was something about Luffy that just drew people in to him, and he was no exception. In fact, he was the first person Luffy brought into his circle, even despite how standoffish and admittedly unpleasant Zoro had treated him. Now, he found it hard to imagine life without Luffy around. He needed him at his side to brighten up his days and liven up his nights.

Tomorrow was the time.

Tomorrow, he decided he would spill his heart to Luffy, hoping it wasn't too late and also hoping he hadn't pushed him away emotionally to a point where there was nothing left to find in the boy's heart.

* * *

"Trafalgar." Smoker called as he entered the infirmary room.

He got no response whatsoever, but walked on past the empty beds until he got to the one by the window.

Empty.

Law was gone.

But before Smoker could begin suspecting the worst, he noticed a note lying neatly folded on the nightstand. Taking it into his hands, he flipped it up and read it over:

" _Smoke-ya,_

_I'm not a weak child who needs protecting. I've stood my ground against Hell for most of my life, the past few years being the worst of it, but still, I'm an adult. And I'm a man, just like you. I'm gone now because I want you to see that I don't need to rely on you. I hate looking weak and having no choice but lie in a bed waiting to recuperate. Importantly, know that this isn't an ending. It's a beginning. When we meet again, we'll have a talk. Man to man."_

It read.

"Trafalgar…" the silver-haired man said, reading the note over and over. He wanted to know where he'd gone to. He could be in trouble. Or…  _"No. That's what this letter is about. I can't go underestimating him, treating him like a needy child."_ He thought calmly.

After taking just a moment to clear his head, Smoker folded Law's letter and then left the infirmary. It was midnight now, and he was ready to call it a day.

…

The surprise Smoker had as he found a solitary and silent Trafalgar Law sitting on his front step was immeasurable. As he saw him sitting there under the porch light with a blank expression on his face, he wondered just how long ago it was that he got there. After all, they finished their conversation a few hours ago. The only reason Smoker hadn't come home was because he was doing an overwhelming amount of paperwork that had piled up over the course of the day, not to mention adding in what Trafalgar told him, listing him as an "anonymous source".

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he went up to the steps leading to his front door.

Law forced himself up and stepped out of the way, "I wanted your company." He replied honestly.

"Heh," Smoker grinned against his cigars, pulling from his pocket the note Law left him and his house keys. The note, he pressed against Law's chest until he took it. The keys he used to unlock his front door.

Smoker let Law go inside first, then he entered, peeling off his large jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

"You know where everything is, huh? Need anything from me?"

"Yeah." Law stood with his back to Smoker for a moment, then turned and looked him in the eyes, "Your time."

"Look, I'm beat. I can't play games with you tonight."

"It's not a joke, nor am I looking to play around." Law snapped, then walked over to and sat on the couch.

Smoker did the same, sitting at a comfortable distance from the younger man. "What is it?"

"Smoke-ya…" Law began, reaching out and taking Smoker's large hand into his smaller one, "I meant what I said."

Pulling out his cigars, which still had quite the life in them, with his free hand, Smoker brought Law's hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "I know. I just wasn't expecting you to try using your feelings to get me to forget about this Doflamingo case."

"I apologize. That was wrong of me."

"Listen, Trafalgar. I think… there's a difference between us. A big one. You've got your life to live, and I've got mine. We're at different stages in our lives, and even if you want it, I can't give you a perfect relationship."

"Are you saying we can't be together?" Law asked, wanting no real answer, "Because to me, it seems like we're at the same stage. You have your devotion to your work, yeah, but that didn't stop you from pulling me under your wing. Don't tell me you don't want a relationship when this lonely life is the one you have to come home to every single night." He said, "And I don't want perfect. That doesn't exist. What I do want is you, the imperfect man I've grown too infatuated with."

"…"

"Smoke-ya, I have real feelings for you. I must be crazy to give in and admit that I like another man, but with you, it's different. You thrill me in so many ways, I enjoy spending time with you, and you give me… hope for a future. Not the future,  _a_  future. I don't want to go on without having you close to me anymore." Law stated, moving close to Smoker and leaning heavily on him, his forehead pressed against the man's cheek.

"It's not like I don't want to be with you. I've definitely thought about it. Many times, actually… It's just that…"

"No. I don't want excuses from you." Law interrupted. Lifting his head, he rubbed his nose against Smoker's cheek, then the side of his nose, and then he pressed his lips against the corner of the man's mouth—stubble greeting him kindly. "Don't deny me. Don't deny yourself. You want me around. Say it."

"…I'm not afraid to admit that. I enjoy your company. But there's an age difference, right? We're years apart."

"I said no excuses. I know what I'm getting myself into. In fact, it intrigues me that I'm interested in such a grumpy old man."

"I'm  _not_  old."

"Smoke-ya, I want a future with you. It's weird, yeah, but I can't bring myself to care about that. I want you and only you. You've been plaguing my thoughts lately without rest… and I've come to understand why now. I want you and no one else. So… will you give it a chance?"

"…"

"Please."

"You didn't have to ask me that way. I want you in my life, too. I want the same future you do." Smoker replied, turning and gently pressing his lips against Law's.

Yes, this was what he wanted. But he put it out of his mind, ignored it even, because he didn't want to force Law into something he maybe didn't want. And sure, he had his suspicions that this would spell disaster for him in the beginning, but things were different now. He knew who Law was now—a troubled, misguided person looking for simple change. And he admired that will, that determination that had brought him to this place where he could meet him. With all his power, he would protect him for the lifetime ahead of them.

Scooping the smaller man up in his arms, Smoker stood up and carried him to the bedroom, earning retorts of "I can walk on my own" and "put me down" the closer he got to it.

"Trafalgar… How do you feel?" he asked as he placed him down on the bed.

"I'm tired… My side hurts… but… thank you for your help…"

"Heh, no problem." Smoker replied, then started towards the door.

"Where are you going? Leaving me to sleep alone?"

"No, I'm going to take a bath. I won't be long."

"Don't drown."

"What? Stop being so dark." The man laughed as he left the room.

Law sighed and, unexpectedly, found himself wondering about what Luffy was doing. If he knew he had started something with a man after all the times of being turned down, who knew how he'd react…?

* * *

"Luffy going to  _BATHE_?!" Nami declared disbelievingly as she saw him walking down the hallway with a towel and a change of clothes under his arm.

"I do bathe from time to time!" the gum-boy said, pulling his eye down and sticking his tongue out at her.

As she rounded the corner, Nami continued teasing Luffy, "What is the world coming to?" she asked.

Zoro was next to come her way. He looked just as uninterested as he always did, and she said nothing to him as he passed her. Though, where he was going puzzled her a bit.

Luffy looked the large bathroom over in excitement. Sure, it was a bathroom, and he normally didn't care for them, but still, it was new and it was his. Larger than he expected with a bathtub in the center and a few shower heads lining the wall, it sat in wait for use.

Lying his clothes down on the floor along with his towel, he closed the door and started undressing. With girls around, especially Nami, he figured he shouldn't be standing around in his birthday suit. When the door knob turned, he folded his arms. Well, he did close the door to have privacy, but if girls were going to just come in, he would do no more to hide his nudity from them.

Zoro walked into the bathroom, stopping halfway when he saw Luffy standing naked before him. A breeze in the hallway shook him from his frozen state and forced him inside, closing the door behind him quickly. Someone had left a window open.

"Zoro?"

Said man blushed a bit and entered further into the bathroom. "Luffy…"

"Oi, what are you doing in here?! You can't want to-"

"Well!" Zoro interrupted, and then started undressing.

Luffy hurried over to the wall and grabbed a shower head, then turned it on. He made sure the bubbles were flowing before he aimed it at the marimo. "Take that!"

"Hey!" Zoro shouted, putting his hand up defensively. "Cut it out!"

Letting the shower head go, causing it to fall into the floor tub, Luffy flashed a slight grin and walked over to him, "What are you doing here?"

"I uh… thought we could… bathe together and relax for a bit."

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow will be crazy since it's the first day of the festival. We should spend some time together now, since Nami might not let us have a break or anything."

"Hm, good point."

Standing before each other as bare as the day they were born, Luffy and Zoro seemed to have slightly moved beyond the initial stage of awkwardness they had. It was slightly comfortable, seeing each other this way.

As Zoro walked over to the tub, Luffy began observing the many scars marking his body. Zoro must have had quite a past…

"You gonna join me?" the marimo asked as he sank into the bubbling water.

Luffy nodded and walked on over, then slipped into the tub unintentionally, coming up desperately for air. "Gaaah!"

"Are you okay?" Zoro said as he grabbed hold of Luffy, pulling him close.

"Fine… I just… water and I haven't gotten along since I was a kid."

"You mean when you ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Yeah."

"Well, luckily this water isn't so deep. Just be careful."

"I plan to!"

"Luffy," Zoro spoke calmly.

"Huh?"

"Ah…" taking note of Luffy's innocent face that sat just above the white, foamy bubbles, Zoro looked out the window. "Well, I'll talk about it later."

"What?"

"I said I'd talk about it later."

"You're weird sometimes."

"You're weird too."

"I guess we're a perfect match, then."

Instead of offering a reply, Zoro simply shook his head with a grin and pulled Luffy up against him. A "perfect match" was simply an understatement.


	19. The Celebration

The next morning was an early starter, as Nami made sure to wake the others up at 6 a.m. sharp to ensure they got the most work done with the time before the festival officially began—8 a.m. She split everyone up, sent them to their posts, and had them finish setting up their games, booths, and prizes.

As the plan stated, Sanji was in charge of all the cooking booths. He had some assistants from the Earth and Space Science department to run them with his supervision, who, like Nami, were in it for the extra credit—though none of them were receiving as much as she was. Usopp, Chopper, Luffy, Vivi, and Franky were put in charge of the many game booths, as one might expect. Robin was in charge of merchandising—keeping booths stocked and marking out what was given out. With her power, it was no hassle at all. Zoro, however, had been given a change in occupation. Nami kept him close to her as she oversaw everything. He was to be the main security, since many of the students had Devil Fruit powers and this was an outdoor activity. It was also a good idea to keep him close so he wouldn't fall asleep, as he was  _sure_  to do.

Currently, everyone was setting up their booths. From the warm, yet breezy morning, it seemed like the day would be a success. Nami wouldn't have to scold anyone, there'd be nice weather through and through, no one would get out of hand, that kind of day. One might dare to call it relaxing.

However, this was  _not_  the feeling Nami had. As she marched down the main sidewalk with her notepad, she made sure everything was going as it should. Zoro followed her with multiple yawns and a look of disinterest on his face. He could sleep through this festival and think nothing of it, honestly.

"Think Zoro's gonna be okay?" Usopp asked Chopper as he put some oversized stuffed animals up on top tier of the booth. He saw the marimo walk by, trailing exhaustedly after Nami as she marched.

"Yeah, I think he'll be just fine. Tonight he'll probably just go to sleep early to make up for having to be up at this hour." Chopper said as he unboxed some more prizes. Some of them were even larger than he was.

"Oh, about Luffy…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think he'll do it?"

"I don't know… I hope he does." The reindeer replied as he watched Luffy clumsily setting up from across the way.

…

As Robin came up to Luffy's booth, she smiled and sprouted some hands to help him set his booth properly. "Luffy. Please periodically let me know the state of your stocks as the day progresses." She told him.

Luffy smiled back. "Right. Thanks for the help, though I can take care of it myself."

"I hope there's a nice surprise for you today." Robin continued knowingly.

"I think there will be." The gum-boy told her, which surprised the woman.

"Oh? Interesting… Well, I'll leave you to your work." She said, and then went across the way to Chopper and Usopp's booth.

"Robin!" Chopper greeted happily.

"What's up with you?" Usopp asked. "You look worried."

"I believe the plan may prove pointless…" she responded, looking over her shoulder at Luffy.

Usopp descended on the ladder. "Why?"

"Perhaps Luffy knows more than we think he does."

…

"Wh—it doesn't matter what he knows." Nami said as she flipped through the pages in her notepad. "What matters is that this day runs smoothly. Luffy and Zoro have their own work to do. Whatever they do after the day is over is of little importance to me. It's taken them long enough as it is."

"How can you be so heartless…?" Usopp asked a bit inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"In any case, Robin, how are things coming with inventory?"

"Just fine." Robin said, showing the figures she'd been collecting on her own notepad to the girl.

"Good. I know I can count on you when the others fail me. Keep them together while I'm not around, please?"

"Of course." Robin smiled.

"Hey, where did Zoro go?" Chopper asked.

"I sent him to pick up something for Vivi in the kinesiology building. It'll make her booth run much smoother." Nami answered, then started on her way again. "I'm gonna go check on Sanji-kun. Call me if something comes up." She said.

"Right."

"Now, I guess I'd better check on Franky while I'm going to see Sanji-kun."

* * *

To Nami's delight, the booths for the festival were set up and prepared well before the mass of students found its way to the union area. Everyone was doing their respective jobs. Merchandise was well managed. Food was prepared and had the area smelling simply divine. All in all, it was a job well done.

"I'm proud of you guys!" she hollered over the crowd of students that was quickly approaching to engage the festivities, packing the area to the brim.

"Time to show 'em what we're made of!" Usopp declared. "Step up and see if you can beat our record at the Million Ton Hammer Slam!"

Chopper sat back near the prizes, still a bit hesitant about large crowds of people. But having his friends around gave him some confidence. He moved away from them just a little when some girls asked if he was a prize.

Luffy, eagerly playing his booth's game where players had to hit the target with a relatively safe bow and arrow, was the life of the area. Everyone was either too interested in seeing him shoot the targets down or motivated to defeat him. He was drawn from the game, however, when he noticed a familiar face coming his way.

"Traffy!" he smiled and waved.

Law made his way over to Luffy through the crowds. He was far from interested in playing games, but he did want to see what Luffy and his friends were capable of. Admittedly, this was a nice setup they had going.

"Hey, Strawhat." He said when he reached him.

"You look tired. Did you sleep last night?" Luffy observed.

The warmth that sprawled its way across Law's face let him know he was blushing. So much so that he had to turn and pretend he was looking at the other booths. "I slept fine."

"That shirt's a bit big… You normally wear tighter clothes, right?"

It was definitely Smoker's shirt. One of the smaller button downs that he found in the man's closet and decided to wear. Damn Luffy for being so overly observant today. "Don't you have prizes to watch? Stop making weird comments…" he told him.

"Traffy, did you get robbed last night?!"

Law put a hand over Luffy's mouth, "Stop yelling… And no, jeez. I…"

"Mmmmph. Mph!" Luffy removed the hand over his mouth. "You saw someone last night, didn't you?"

"If you must know… yes. It was… Smoker."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't tell anyone. Please, Mugi—Luffy. I don't want everyone knowing who I'm going out with until I'm ready to tell. But then again, it's not really anyone's business. I'm telling you this because we're friends."

Luffy was conflicted. He was a bit upset that Law had kept such a secret from him; that he'd lied to him about his interest in men. But he was also glad to hear such a secret for the simple reason that they were friends. When Law took a step back, Luffy kept his cool. "You could've told me sooner. And you didn't have to lie to me!"

"I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't interested in guys… I  _wasn't_. But things change. Life is full of changes that we have to adjust to. Even if they're… somewhat  _painful_ ones."

"Wait…" Luffy squinted as his suspicion rose. "You two did it?!"

"My gosh. Could you be an adult about this?"

"Fine…" the gum-boy said, folding his arms.

"Thank you."

"Jeez, what was that like? He's so much bigger than you, and he's…" After thinking seriously about Smoker's appearance, Luffy said something much more different to what he originally was about to, "Well… I guess he's okay to look at."

"I can't say I hated it."

"That's as good as it's gonna get with you, huh?" Luffy said, knowing Law would probably never admit to  _liking_  anything.

"Guess so."

"Should I say… congrats…? Or-"

"I don't need your congratulations! I just… kinda wanted to talk about it…" Law felt his face warming a bit. This was undeniably embarrassing.

"Well, I've got a fish to catch of my own." The gum-boy grinned.

"That Zoro guy?"

"Yup!"

"Hmmm, good luck there."

"Hey, stick around for a while. My friends would love to have you around to help."

"I'll consider it." Law said, then took a look around. "But first I've gotta find Smoker. I'll see you later, Luffy."

"Kay! Good luck!" Luffy said with a smile and a wave.

* * *

The day passed much more quickly than anyone could've expected. Soon, evening had arrived. The crowds died down quite a bit, sure to be back full force tomorrow morning, which gave Luffy and the others a lot of down time.

Walking the pathway lit with bonfires and vibrantly colorful booth lights, Brook looked around for the brightest ray of light that he'd seen in a long time.

When Luffy saw him, he nearly fell out of his booth to try getting to him. "Skeleton!" he called with a great grin.

"Luffy-san." Brook greeted.

"Hey, who is that?" Nami asked as she came out of the building. When she saw that the person talking to Luffy didn't have skin, she nearly shrieked herself into a terror-induced coma. "Luffy!"

"What was that?" Usopp asked, sticking his head out of his booth.

"Sounded like Nami. I hope she wasn't burned alive…" Robin said when she walked over to the booth.

"Stop it!" Usopp pleaded.

"Hey, what's Nami-san screaming about?!" Sanji asked as he ran to where her cry had come from.

"Sanji-kuuun!" Nami called, beside herself with fear on the ground.

"Luffy, what's going on!?" Sanji asked.

Luffy raised his hands defensively. "Calm down! This guy's a friend! He's gonna play music for us!"

"Interesting." Vivi said as she and the others came over. "And what will we be hearing from a skeleton?" she asked with a smile.

"I know plenty of songs to compliment this beautiful night. Oh, and by the way, may I see your panties?" He asked Nami.

"NOOO!"

With a disappointed sigh, Brook pulled his violin out from its case and tuned it. Once that was done, he lifted it under his chin and began playing. And, as he said, he had quite the beautiful melody to accompany the festivities.

Luffy felt pretty glad that he'd invited Brook to join them. He was sure sitting on the beach and singing alone couldn't compare to this. And when the others finally lowered their guards, he looked around for Zoro.

"Usopp, have you seen Zoro?" he asked.

"Um… I think he's at the security booth. Probably napping."

"Right."

"Good luck." The long-nosed boy said a bit inaudibly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing!"

Shrugging that off, Luffy made his way to the tall, black booth designated to the security team for the day. He felt a bit warm against the refreshing coolness of the evening. And that was strange. It was just Zoro he was going to see.

When he stepped into the booth, he saw that it was probably one of the largest ones in the festival. It had many tables for reporting incidents, but thankfully everyone seemed rather idle. No students were in to report anything.

He finally spotted Zoro sitting against a wall, eyes closed, with a Billy club at his side and hand cuffs linked to his belt.

"Enjoying the festival?" he asked the man.

Zoro opened his eyes, looked up, and gave his attention to Luffy. "More or less. Nothing to do, really. Nobody's bold enough to step outta line."

"Think you can slip away for a bit?"

The marimo looked around, sure that the other students who were acting as security could properly do their jobs should something happen. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Let's go get some food."

"Heh, you read my mind!" Zoro grinned and got up. He stretched out his arms and yawned, then motioned for Luffy to lead the way.

"You know you'd be in trouble if Nami caught you napping on the job." Luffy told him as they walked.

"I'd be in trouble with Nami for a lot of things." The taller man replied with a smirk. He'd probably been doing his job wrong all day, now that he thought about it.

"True."

And then a silence found its way to the boisterous two as they continued to one of the food-serving booths; a slightly awkward one at that.

At their arrival to the fried foods booth, they took their seats right next to each other.

"Hey, what can we get for you two?" the server asked. She was definitely pretty. Surely she'd be hit on by Sanji before the night was over.

"I'll take some fried fish. And anything with alcohol in it to drink would be great." Zoro told her.

"Same for me." Luffy said.

"Sure thing. Since you two work here, you don't have to pay. Orders from the boss lady." The girl told them.

"Awesome! All the food I can eat!" Luffy gleamed.

The two of them waited a bit in silence before the girl came back with some drinks for them. Zoro eagerly took his, only to be disappointed that there was no alcohol in it. Luffy seemed pretty content with it, though.

"Luffy," the marimo said.

"Hm?"

"I guess you're glad the skeleton guy showed up."

"Of course! I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a place to stay, so I was actually thinking of inviting him to stay on the Thousand Sunny with us."

Zoro almost laughed. "I'd love to see the look on Nami's face if he agreed to."

"It doesn't matter one way or another." Luffy said, "That guy's a good person, and I wanna help him out. He seems like he'd be a great friend and I wanna keep him around."

From his lower gut, and even his chest, Zoro felt like something was twisting and constraining him. Every part of him was falling for Luffy and he couldn't hide it anymore. This guy, whose heart was as bright and colorful as this festival, and whose will was as powerful as the ocean itself, had come into his life and forcibly changed him. Made him understand what it meant to hold someone dear and truly want to spend time with them.

Deep inside, he had already decided that he would willingly follow this man to the ends of the earth and back until the end of time. It was strange, but he'd never encountered someone who made him feel like he wanted to be with them eternally. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He said. "I… well…" he trailed off, nervous of what was next to come.

This was harder than he imagined it'd be.

"Wait." Luffy insisted. "Zoro, I know what you think. I know you didn't want a relationship before, but… Dang it, I really want you to reconsider that! You and I have fun together and we work well together. We both really care about each other too… And it's not fair that you don't want me to date someone else, but you won't even go out with me. So…" he hesitated, a bit nervous with what he was about to say, but continued anyway, "I want to ask you out on a date. Will you go out with me?"

Zoro was shocked to say the least. He didn't expect Luffy to bring this up again so soon. On top of that,  _he_  was just about to ask Luffy out.

"Luffy… I…" the man paused. A grin found its way to his face. "I was actually about to talk to you about that. But you beat me to it."

"W—what? Really?" The look of surprise on Luffy's face rivaled the one that Zoro was just wearing.

"Yeah. But since you already asked, yes. I'll go out with you." the marimo said. His eyes went wide when Luffy stretched his arms all around his body and grabbed him into a warm hug.

"You know, when I think about it, we've pretty much been dating this whole time…" Luffy grinned and said as he kissed Zoro's cheek.

Zoro grinned again, "Yeah, pretty much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is not the last chapter. I apologize for the long wait for the update. I will try to conclude the story soon. And I appreciate the continued support and interest you all give.


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